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With Delhi border sealed, Haryana Roadways starts plying 51 buses on UP routes

ByLeena Dhankhar and Archana Mishra, Gurugram
Mar 29, 2020 11:40 PM IST

The Haryana Roadways on Saturday night started plying 51 buses on Uttar Pradesh routes to ferry migrant workers, who have been walking from the city towards their

The Haryana Roadways on Saturday night started plying 51 buses on Uttar Pradesh routes to ferry migrant workers, who have been walking from the city towards their hometowns amid the ongoing lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19 disease). The decision to ply these buses was taken by the state government after tens of thousands of migrant workers from Gurugram, Delhi, Noida, and Ghaziabad gathered at the Anand Vihar bus terminus on Saturday.

“We are helping the migrant labourers who are stuck due to the lockdown. Since the Delhi-Gurugram border is closed, we are taking them to the Uttar Pradesh border via Manesar and Rajasthan,” said Ombir Sharma, state vice president, Haryana Roadways.

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“After the announcement of the lockdown on March 24, workers from different parts of Delhi-NCR started heading towards their hometowns in different districts of Haryana as well as other states, such as Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Following the directives by the state government, we are running buses from Gurugram and Faridabad borders to drop them off to state border,” said Sharma.

Naresh Kumar, duty inspector (sub-inspector), Haryana Roadways, said “We have been running a limited number of buses for the last three days since the exodus of migrant workers started. Four buses are plying from the Sirhaul toll plaza near the Delhi-Gurugram border to Manesar. After Delhi government closed down its border, and workers were debarred from moving towards the capital, we started picking them up and dropping them off near Manesar, where there is facility for food and shelter.”

According to Kumar, two more buses are plying from Aya Nagar in Delhi to Sohna for the labourers who are taking that route. “The outstation bus service was started on Saturday night,” he said.

However, since the frequency of theses bus is limited, daily wage workers with their families and children were seen walking on the National Highway-48 to cross the Delhi or the Rajasthan borders. Worried about a possible extension of the lockdown, these daily-wage labourers said they have run out of ration and fear difficult times ahead. Many of them said that they are ready to walk almost 200-700 kilometres to reach their hometown and be with their families.

Sameer, 23, who worked as a helper in the city, said on Sunday that he would walk till Lucknow to reach his home. “We cannot earn during this lockdown phase as every shop is shut. How can we survive? Our only hope is our parents and our home,” said Sameer, who made pooris with the limited ration he had before heading for a 500-km journey.

Preet Pal Sangwan, assistant commissioner of police (crime), said, that police officials are helping migrant labourers to cross the border in public transport as they are walking in large groups. “We have seen many people complaining of shoe bites due to the long hours of walking. A few of them even fainted due to the heat. We are helping them to cross the borders till Kosi in Uttar Pradesh as they are not allowed to enter Delhi. We are taking them to Uttar Pradesh border, through Rajasthan” he said.

A similar situation prevailed on the Faridabad border as well. Razak Khan, in-charge, Gwal Pahari police post on Faridabad Road, said hundreds of migrants are crossing the borders for Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. “We are helping them to board the Haryana Roadways buses. We are not charging them a single penny. We are also helping them with food and water. Several social workers were also providing the workers with food,” he said.

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