An exodus of a different kind, hundreds of guest workers dot the Chennai-Kolkata Highway here starting from Puzhal, a northern Chennai suburb, hoping to make it to their native towns and villages up north and eastern parts of the country to reunite with worried parents, concerned spouses and doting children.
With the odds stacked against them, they walk, pedal and hitchhike along the highway (National Highway-16/Chennai- Kolkata), also known as the Grand Northern Trunk Road, with the sole aim of reaching home, all the while managing with little or no money.
The entire 46-km stretch of the highway from Puzhal on the northern tip of Chennai till Ramapuram, the first village on the Andhra Pradesh side that falls under Tada mandal is teeming with hundreds of guest workers mainly belonging to Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal.
The scene of several families including women and children from Odisha who carried their belongings stuffed in big, empty paint boxes on their heads was a deeply moving sight.
Most people are unaware of the 'e-passes' to travel on road and do not know whom to approach to board special trains to reach their destinations with ease.
Some who tried to get passes claimed they could not get them.
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While the scene that is unfolding on the highway is often chaotic with guest workers trying to reason out with police officials to allow them to go, some with adequate money manage to charter buses and others plead with truck drivers to take them home.
Some who do not travel in a group, seek 'lift' from two- wheeler riders too.
Not all are, however, lucky enough.
A migrant worker in his late thirties, Ram Biswas who was determined to cycle his way to Lachipeta of Malkangiri district in Odisha could not make it beyond Kavarapettai near here and he was found dead on roadside on Tuesday.
Biswas was among a group of young men who left Chennai city a couple of days ago.
"Apparently the man was exhausted," a police official said adding his body was being sent to his native place following post mortem at a government hospital.
Each one of the guest workers have agonising tales to recount.
Braving the scorching sun, Bihar-bound Ranjit Kumar Ojha though penniless and injured, was seeking "directions" with determination to go home at the Sholavaram checkpost that was abuzz with activity.
Having worked for a road construction firm till recently, Ojha was distressed that his company did not help him even after he suffered a leg injury, but said he will walk all the way till Champaran in Bihar to start life anew.
Ajay Nayak and a small bunch of his friends who were resting on the highway repeated that they wanted to reach Kandhamal in Odisha, come what may.
Nayak was "unsuccessful" in his bid to secure a pass to leave Tamil Nadu and said he was now left with no choice than to take the long walk like thousands of his ilk across the country, where a punishing lockdown has left them jobless and no money to spend.
Nayak, all of 20 years, and his friends were employed at an industrial unit near Chennai.
"We wanted to go to Odisha, but the police stopped us (here) and wanted us to get a pass..what can we do?. its not easy.. we have no money and it is a problem to get food," one of Nayak's friends said and added that they will resume their journey.
Bishwanath Mondal, from Malda in West Bengal, was till recently in the "construction line" at Ambattur in the city.
"Our company has not helped us in the last two months. We want to proceed to Kolkata but don't have a penny... whatever we had was spent on food, even as we are out of work for two months," he said as his colleagues looked on.
"Our parents and others back home are worried," he added.
A white towel wrapped around his head to protect himself from the harsh summer sun, Mondal said, "we have set out by foot since we have no money."
Asked if they can cycle all the way there, Chatria said in a mix of broken Tamil and Hindi "this is Hindustan we can go."
Unlike several others, though they have jobs and are paid promptly they said, "our minds are set, we want to go home as our families are worried."
While civic officials insist that the state government is ensuring accommodation and food for the jobless workers, police said they do not "allow anyone to walk on the highway."