Cramped in tents overnight, 700 wait 30 hours at stadium for buses in Gurugram

GURUGRAM: After being afflicted with the hardships of lockdown for two months and reaching Gurugram’s Tau Devi Lal Stadium on Monday riding on the hope that they will finally be sent back home, more than 700 migrant workers found themselves stranded there for more than 30 hours because of a miscalculation on the part of the administration.

Packed in the two marquees set up inside the stadium and uncertain of when they will be sent back, the workers spent the long hours of discomfort and mosquito bites worrying about contracting Covid-19 or malaria. “I have a seven-year-old son who cried through the night as he could not sleep due to the mosquitoes. Who will be responsible if my child falls sick with malaria or dengue,” questioned Dhananjay Kumar, a tailor from Buxar in Bihar who has been out of work since the lockdown was announced.

Almost all of them had arrived on Monday morning after receiving messages from the administration that they should report to the stadium to get on a train scheduled for 6pm. However, when they reached, they were told that the train doesn’t have enough seats for all of them. While some of them were sent back the same day, the remaining, many of whom have permanently vacated their rented accommodations, were not even informed how long they will have to wait.

“We came here only after we received the message. And then they kept telling us to wait. On Monday night, they told us they had no arrangement and we should return home. All of us protested as we had vacated the houses and come,” said Sant Kumar, who worked as a security guard with a multination company in the city.

Languishing in the confines of the stadium, the workers pointed out that they were not screened at the gate. “I am extremely anxious since last night. If there is even one positive case here, we will all contract it too. We are packed in tent and using the same toilets. Social distancing is a non-existent here,” said Amit Kumar, who also worked in Narsinghpur and is headed to Gopalganj.

NGOs and volunteers brought in food, water and other essential items. But as the hours rolled on, the rancour over this mistreatment and their interminable wait for a seat on the Shramik Special , grew louder.

Many swore never to return to the National Capital Region if they manage to get out this time. “I swear to God that I will never return to Gurugram. The people and the government here doesn’t give a damn about us. I will die of starvation back at home but will never come here again,” said Gautam Kumar from Bihar’s Bhagalpur who worked with a manufacturing unit in Narsinghpur.

On Monday, SDM Hitesh Singh had told TOI that all of them would be sent back by Tuesday morning. However, authorities struggled to arrange for buses till late afternoon, and only after the workers protested, did the authorities seek help from NGOs and other private organisations and managed to get the required number of buses.

At around 3pm on Tuesday, the migrant workers were sent back to their home towns in 23 buses. “We have made the arrangements of buses with the help of civil society and other organisations, and everyone has been sent home. All their requirements in terms of food and water were taken care of while they were here,” said one of the nodal officers looking after the transportation.