Mumbai: Chand Shaikh, 23, is bursting with questions. "Madam, do you have details of how many more Shramik trains will be run, when can we expect to go back home, when will it be our turn?" asks Shaikh, a migrant labour from Uttar Pradesh, who currently lives in a rental shanty at MIDC, Andheri east.
"For the last one week, my two roommates and I have been leaving our room daily, with our baggage and have waited for hours at the Andheri Holy Family school ground, where all migrants are called by police. From this spot, they are taken via buses to railway stations. Each day, we have been bidding adieu to our neighbours every day, hoping it will be the day our names are called and it will be our turn to board the Shramik special train going to our village but so far, we have been disappointed."
Shaikh worked as a labourer and earned Rs 500 a day, working as a home-mover. However, the lockdown put paid to that. "I cannot pay my share of rent. The owner comes every time and threatens to evict us for non-payment of rent. Where will we go? Besides, there are other expenses also--electricity and water bills to pay. Without money, how are we supposed to manage? Surviving in Mumbai without work is very difficult for us daily wagers. Therefore, we now want to go back home to Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. There, at least we have our own houses and don't have to worry about rent, unlike here. We can easily get by with some small labour assignments, " he explained.
Loss of income is also the reason his roommates Ashraf and Subhash want to return home. Ashraf said, "We live in a slum and monsoon is about to begin. In Mumbai, slum dwellers are the worst-affected in the monsoon and work is hard to come by. It is hard to move house in the rain, so it is better we leave now, rather than be miserable here."
Subhash said, "We know that Railways have opened booking for other trains from June 1, but we don't have the money to book tickets. In Shramik trains we can go home for free. Not having had jobs for the last two months, we have incurred debt, having borrowed money from friends to survive. Now, how can we ask them for money to buy train tickets. They too are poor like us and making ends meet with great difficulty."
