4 days, 100km... labourers trudge from Goa to Karnataka

No work, no food. Hunger and desperation made them walk about 100km from Goa to their homes in Karnataka.
Migrant workers from Goa, who arrived on foot at Honnihal village near Belagavi on Saturday, receive food packets from villagers
Migrant workers from Goa, who arrived on foot at Honnihal village near Belagavi on Saturday, receive food packets from villagers

BELAGAVI:  No work, no food. Hunger and desperation made them walk about 100 km from Goa to their homes in Karnataka. Braving the hot sun, wrapping a towel round their heads, carrying their bags on their shoulders or heads, stopping for an occasional break, these men, women and children trudged along for four days with hope in their hearts. “We have been walking from Goa for the last four days towards Bagalkot, Raichur and Vijayapura where we hail from.

As daily-wage workers on various construction sites in different parts of Goa, we were struggling for survival without food and shelter ever since the construction works were suspended due to the lockdown. So we decided to undertake this tiring trek from Goa to our villages in Karnataka,’’ said one of the migrant workers at Honnihal. Although the state’s borders with Goa and Karnataka are sealed by the police, they managed to squeeze into Karnataka taking the odd routes via Khanapur.

As this group of hungry and exhausted migrant workers reached Honnihal on Saturday afternoon, the entire village and social workers came to their rescue. But another group did not find any welcome. They were stranded at the border staring at an uncertain future though now the Goa government has taken them back.

‘Goa prepared to provide shelter to K’taka labourers’

The unprecedented lockdown has left those in the unorganised sector with no means to earn or survive or transport to head back home to Karnataka. This group of 300 workers, employed on construction sites, in agricultural fields and small business firms, started their arduous 60km-trek to Karnataka from neighbouring Goa and Maharashtra a couple of days ago. The group includes several women and children who are desperate for food and shelter. They were halted by the police late Friday night when they tried to cross the Goa border near Kanakumbi.

Many workers said they were not sure whether they would be able to make a living without any work. Despite the odds, the workers are hopeful of reaching their villages whether or not they get vehicles in the next few days. Speaking to The New Sunday Express, Belagavi Police Commissioner B S Lokeshkumar said that as per the government orders, the people must stay put in their current locations whether or not it was their native. These workers were sent back to Goa from the border after the Karnataka authorities held talks with the Deputy Commissioner there.

They will not be allowed to enter Belagavi, the police commissioner said. Belagavi Superintendent of Police Laxman Nimbargi said his department ensured that all the migrant workers who had reached Kanakumbi on the Goa border were sent back to the places of their work back in Goa on Friday night. “The Goan authorities who took all the workers back will provide them food and shelter until the lockdown ends,’’ he added. Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said his government is prepared to provide shelter and food for all the migrant labourers of Karnataka. “About 300 migrant workers had reached Karnataka border from Goa on Friday via interior roads.

After we were alerted by the Karnataka government about their migration, we brought them back to Goa and housed them in the labour camps here. We will ensure that they are given food and shelter. They can contact our local authorities if they had any problems,” he said. Another group of about 15 migrant workers which had reached Belagavi from Goa on Friday night was kept in an isolation facility in Belagavi district hospital. Several small groups of migrant workers from parts of Maharashtra were found taking rest on the road-side and entering Sambra village near Belagavi on Saturday.

Many of them who hailed from parts of Kalaburagi district said they were daily wage earners working in Maharashtra. “We have been walking all the way from Maharashtra border to Kalaburagi and Bidar districts after we lost our jobs due to the lockdown. We were able to travel some distance in a goods vehicle but again we resumed our journey on foot,’’ said a migrant worker from Maharashtra at Sambra village.

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The New Indian Express
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