Published 10:48 IST, June 2nd 2020
Migrant couple sells mangalsutra to buy bicycles; pedals from Bengaluru to Cuttack
In yet another heart-wrenching incident, three migrants including a couple travelled through bicycles from Bengaluru to Cuttack to reach their native place
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The plight of the migrant workers amid the Coronavirus pandemic and the consequential lockdown has been heartbreaking, owing to loss of jobs, financial crunch and with them even going empty stomach for days at times while taking up arduous treks to go home. In yet another heart-wrenching incident, three migrants including a couple were forced to travel through bicycles from Bengaluru to Cuttack to reach their native place.
The wife had to sell her manga sutra in exchange for Rs 15,000 after which they bought two bicycles and undertook the journey. They were spotted by some social workers in Cuttack who then made arrangements for their food and drinking water. The social workers then also made arrangements for them to travel by a pickup vehicle to their native place, Basudevpur in Bhadrak, Odisha.
Upon talking to reporters about his difficult journey, one of the migrants, Chandan Jena said, "We have not earned for over two months and we ran out of money. As a last resort, my wife had to sell her Mangalsutra for Rs 15,000 to buy two bicycles and we left Bengaluru for Basudevpur in Bhadrak," Chandan said.
Chandan and his friend Tapan Jena purchased two bicycles for Rs 5,000 each to take the long and tiring journey. Despite the government measures such as deploying Shramik special trains by the Centre and thousands of buses by several state governments, migrant workers still continue to face immense problems to reach their native places as they are without jobs, money, and even accommodation and food.
The Centre and the state governments across the country have started resuming economic activities in a phased manner. Terming it as 'Unlock-1', the Centre has directed the state governments to resume activities in all parts of the country except red zones.
Updated 10:48 IST, June 2nd 2020