Murshidabad 7 return, thank Valley patrons

Murshidabad: Seven labourers from Brahmani village in Murshidabad’s Sagardighi returned from Kashmir on Sunday afternoon. Around a hundred from the village — close to Bahalnagar village whose five residents were gunned down in Kulgam last week — work in the strife-torn Valley. More are expected to return on Monday and Tuesday.
Zinarul Sheikh, Mohammed Kamaal and Nasiruddin Sheikh are among the seven who managed to board a train from Jammu to Delhi on Friday.They took another train from the national capital to Kolkata and finally reached their village on Sunday.
All five — who worked as labourers in Chitragaon, which is close to Kulgam — looked exhausted but relieved to have reached the safety of their homes. “It has been a terrifying time for us. Three of us were cooped inside our rented room ever since the killings took place. Our landlord Yusuf Khan was very protective and he ensured we remained safe. We never left our home till Friday,” said Zinarul.
The labourers, who had gone to Kashmir a little over a month ago, said they had seen posters asking outsiders to leave about two weeks ago. “But we didn’t take them seriously because everything seemed alright. But we were scared when we heard about the killings. The fact that the victims were from Murshidabad left us even more terrified. We feared we could now be targeted since we were from Bengal. But locals helped us and kept us hidden,” said Kamaal.
He added that his landlord told them Kashmiris were not against visitors and were keen to have more tourists. “Our landlord and his family treated us like their own. We were given food and kept shielded till the situation improved. They helped us sneak out of the village and travel to Jammu, from where we took a train to Delhi,” said Zinarul.
While none is planning to return to Kashmir, they are keen to explore opportunities in other states. “We had chosen Kashmir since unskilled workers like us could earn upto Rs 650 a day there. But now the state has become risky. We must find work in some other place or else we will starve,” said Nasiruddin Sheikh.