6 Maha interns working on spl trains long for home

Panaji: On Monday, Maroti Kamaji Pisal from Parbhani, Maharashtra, could only watch helplessly as he saw hundreds of Biharis board a train back home at Karmali railway station. Pisal and five other friends were helping pack food at the station for those leaving by the Shramik Special, but were clueless about their own return.

The six of them arrived in Goa last November as part of a hotel management programme. Unfortunately, the lockdown was announced before their internship at a hotel in Baga could end. The youth now find themselves stranded in the state, with no train scheduled to Maharashtra so far.

“When the lockdown was announced, the hotel we were interning at also shut down. The owner allowed us to stay and provided us with food, thinking that transportation would resume sooner or later. On May 28, when he realised that the lockdown was being extended, he told us we could no longer stay there and that he could not look after us indefinitely,” Pisal said.

The six young men suddenly found themselves without shelter, food or any means to return home.

“Some boys from Uttarakhand were also working with us. We learnt from them that there is a government shelter at the athletics stadium in Bambolim. The day we reached there, there were thousands already. We were then accommodated at the youth hostel in Panaji,” said Nalit Nagora, a native of Yavatmal.

Pisal said they spend the day packing food at the station after being asked to help out during their stay at the youth hostel. “We just want to return home,” he said.