Thane: The Thane police had to resort to lathi charge at the Rashid Compound area in Mumbra at around 1 PM on Tuesday, to disperse a crowd of hundreds of migrant labourers who had assembled in the area, demanding that they be allowed to return to their native villages.
The workers were hoping to return to their native places, in anticipation that the nation-wide lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19 would end on Tuesday. Disappointed at the extension of the lockdown till May 3, the frustration of the workers who had gathered was evident, as social distancing and lockdown norms were thrown to the wind.
They demanded that they be allowed to return to their native villages and towns. Deputy Commissioner of Police, S S Burse, Thane Zone 1, said, "On seeing the situation, our police teams rushed to the spot. We have cleared the crowd within 15 minutes".
Mumbra police said that they attempted to control the situation, but when it seemed to be getting out of hand, they had to resort to a lathi charge to disperse the crowd. Many of the workers said they had come to Maharashtra for employment and were daily wage workers who had no means of earning a livelihood during the lockdown. “We do not have any money to buy food after 21 days of the lockdown.
The owners of the rooms we stay in also frequently demand money. How can we pay our rents when our source of income has stopped? We have all taken to the street to go back walking to our hometowns,” said one of the migrant workers. “Food distribution in the area has also stopped. Now, in this situation, what do we do? We have only one way to go back to our hometown,” another worker said.