No matter how difficult it is, they want to reach home in Tamil Nadu by foot from here notwithstanding the extension of lockdown.
“We came here from Chennai to fix PVC windows on receiving an order from a laboratory located in the Siripuram area in the city. On completing the job, we had booked train tickets. However, we got stuck here due to lockdown imposed to control COVID-19 pandemic last month,” said Anand Babu.
Mr. Babu, along with Baburaj of Coimbatore and Mohanraj of Erode, finally embarked on a walking expedition of a different kind on Tuesday. “We lost all our hopes of leaving for Chennai after completion of lockdown on April 14. The announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to extend it up to May 3 disappointed us a lot. We decided to walk down to join our families after a long gap,” Mr. Baburaj told The Hindu.
The trio said they were worried about the safety and well-being of their family members. The Tamil Nadu residents, who were stranded in a room provided by the laboratory which hired their services, wondered whether there was the guarantee that the lockdown would be lifted on May 3. “If there is no improvement in COVID situation, people may face third phase of lockdown,” one of them remarked.
The trio is in touch with their families on mobile phones. They want to travel the total distance of 800 km on foot, for which they want to buy fruits and biscuits during morning hours when the lockdown is relaxed to keep them going.
