Jeetender Kumar Yadav, a migrant worker from Bihar, has been living and working in Chennai for the past eight years. His wife, 25-year-old Pooja Devi, is four-months pregnant.
Since he does not have a job now, he, like the thousands of migrant workers stranded in the city, desperately wants to return home. These migrant labourers, meanwhile, are hounded by conmen and touts offering to arrange a bus to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh for ₹5,000 per head.
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Mr. Yadav is among the 28 migrant workers housed in a school in Broadway by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) for the past few weeks. However, there are more than 1,200 people like him from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar stranded in other parts of the city such as Tambaram, Avadi, Tiruvottiyur and Tondiarpet.
While those at the shelter get food from the GCC, others are left with no money and are struggling for food, they said. "I worked as a lorry driver in Chennai for the past eight years. Since my wife is pregnant, I wish to return home and give her good care. I also have a 1.5-year-old baby. Since there are no trains, I am staying in the school. Last Saturday, two persons approached us and forced us to take a bus to Bihar for ₹5,000 per head. We refused to budge," he said.
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Many of the migrant workers are approached by such conmen when they walk towards the Central Railway Station hoping to hop onto a train to their native place. "When we were waiting outside the station, some people approached me and asked me if I wanted to travel home by bus. They quoted ticket price as ₹5,000. When I denied having any money, they left the spot," said Rameswar Choudhary, 55, from Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, who boarded a train to his hometown on Wednesday morning.
Meanwhile, many other migrant workers are not sure about their future. One such person is Rajesh Kumar from Lucknow. He came to Chennai five months ago and was working in a construction site. "I don't have a job now. I am staying with three others in Kamaraj Street, Aynavaram. Now we are borrowing rice and dhal from neighbours to cook food. Even if we do some job, the employers don't pay us. So I wish to return to my hometown," he said.
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A volunteer working for the welfare of migrant labourers said that there are many workers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar scattered across the city who are not accommodated in shelters. "The GCC should arrange a train for all of the 1,000 odd workers stuck here. It would be very helpful," he said.
Meghanath Reddy, Greater Chennai Corporation Deputy Commissioner (Revenue and Finance), said that arrangements are being made to send the migrant labourers back home. "We are collecting the list of people who really want to go. Many drop the plan to travel once they get a job here," he said.
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The GCC has asked migrant workers not to fall prey for touts, he added.
