Migrants return, but face hunger again in Delhi

NEW DELHI: Amit had left Delhi by bicycle with his wife and two children, promising never to return to the capital. But with conditions worse at home, the 45-year-old had no option but to come back to the capital. “I left for my village in Bihar in May and braved many setbacks, almost losing our lives, in fact, in going home,” said Amit. “But soon we had no money left and I had to decide to return to Delhi.But with the news of Covid-19 cases rising every day, I decided to leave my wife and two daughters behind.”
In Delhi, however, Amit did not find such a convivial atmosphere. The plumber has been going from one shop to the other in search of some work, but little is coming his way. He is one of the thousands who left Delhi vouching never to return, but eventually felt forced to make the reverse journey to the city. However, most came back alone, not ready to risk their families to the viral scourge.
Among the returnees that TOI spoke was Ravinder Kumar. “I was working at a construction site in south Delhi and went home when I was left with no money to sustain myself. Feeding my kids had become a big problem. Had we stayed back, we would have died of starvation,” said Kumar. When the lockdown ended, his employer called him several times cajoling him to return. “He told me that he would take care of my food and the other problems I had been facing in Delhi,” said Kumar. “Even though I wasn’t sure about returning, I was convinced when he told me he would pay me more than earlier. Since the condition back home was not quite as favourable as I expected, I returned prepared to risk the infection, but left my family behind.”
Like Kumar, Santan Kumar, 53, made the tough choice of returning to Delhi when his savings got exhausted. “Even though I had not planned on returning quite so soon, I had no choice. My sons wanted to accompany me, but I ordered them to stay back,” said Santan. “I am an electrician and because of the nature of my work, meet many people during theday and I am susceptible to corona infection. I didn’t want my family to be at risk too.”
Pawan, a shopkeeper in Possangipur in west Delhi, could not resume business until a week ago when he tempted three of his workers on the promise of almost double the salary they were getting pre-lockdown. “I came to my shop every day after the lockdown and realised I couldn’t start my business without the workers,” said Pawan.