Having been stranded in the national capital for around a month, 25-year-old Inayat Mia was not sure if he would be able to celebrate Eid with his family in Bihar this year, till he saw his name in a list of train passengers leaving Delhi on Tuesday.
"I used to work as a painter in Ladakh. I went there in March and worked for 10 days, following which the nationwide lockdown was imposed. I thought that I would not be able to celebrate Eid with my family this year. But now I am happy that I am going to Bettiah. I will call my wife and parents after boarding the train," he told PTI.
Mia reached the national capital on March 22 via a flight and said that he would go back to Ladakh after the situation returns to normal.
Three special AC trains are scheduled to leave the New Delhi railway station for Dibrugarh, Bengaluru and Bilaspur. The train to Dibrugarh in Assam will leave at 4.45 pm, while the one leaving for Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh and Bengaluru in Karnataka will leave the New Delhi station at 5.30 pm and 9.15 pm, respectively.
A total of 62 migrants left for the railway station in three buses from the Yamuna Sports Complex shelter.
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Most migrants at the shelter, whom PTI spoke to, are sole bread winners of their families and are worried how their family members are making ends meet back in the village as there is no source of income during the lockdown.
Ramasis Das, 49, a native of Gaya district in Bihar, said he was living in Delhi from the last six to seven years and he worked in a leather bag manufacturing company.
"I was employed at a leather bag company in Kapashera area here. I was walking all the way from Kapashera in search of transport to reach Gaya when the police saw me walking and took me to the shelter home on May 9," Das said and expressed joy at finally being able to return home.
Mohammed Shoiab Alam (21), a native of Patna district in Bihar, said he kept praying to God during the holy period of Ramdan for a miracle which finally came true.
"I work as a pushcart puller in old Delhi's cycle market and used to earn around Rs 500 per day. I came to Delhi in 2017 and used to sleep on the the cart itself as my salary was too low to afford a rented accommodation here.
"I kept praying to Allah to help me reach Patna. I am the eldest of my seven siblings. We are not facing any issues in the shelter home during Ramadan and I will come back after the situation gets normal," Alam said.
Ram Vilas, 40, a rickshaw puller, said he has witnessed this kind of situation first time in his life and is hoping that it will end soon.
"I have worked as a rickshaw puller for 20 years in east Delhi's Vivek Vihar area and have not seen this kind of situation before. I am hoping that this will end soon so that I can come back here again. Earlier, I used to earn around Rs 600 to 700 per day, but now I have a little amount of money left for my family in Bihar," he said.
Ajay Kumar Yadav, 25, a resident of Arrah district in Bihar, said he has no work in his hometown and will return to the national capital once the situation gets normal.
"My father died in 2002 when we were very young. He used to work as a mason and died after falling off a building in Delhi. I can not stop working as I have to bear the responsibility of my mother and younger brother, who is currently studying in Bihar. I came to Delhi in 2013 and started working as a handcart puller. I will return here as we have more opportunities in Delhi as compared to Bihar," Yadav said.
Sohan Lal, Executive Magistrate, Yamuna Sports Complex (Shelter Home) said, "On Tuesday, 62 people were sent to the New Delhi Railway Station from the sports complex. We have given them medical certificates, along with food for two times and two water bottles for each passenger."
He said they had been providing food to the migrants thrice a day, including morning tea. "The menu gets changed every alternate day. There are many Muslims here for whom we made arrangements for Sehri and Iftar. On Sunday, 103 people, including seven children, were sent to Bihar," said.
At the Yamuna Sports Complex, where 1,400 people are lodged, there were several people who were not lucky enough to go home this time and are awaiting their turn to return to their respective native towns.
Srinivas Shah, 59, a resident of Rohtas district of Bihar, said he will not come to Delhi again.
"I worked as a cook in Ghaziabad from the last four years. My salary was Rs 16,000 and my employer refused to pay my last month's stipend. My 16-year-old daughter has hearing-related problems and I do not have money for her treatment.
"I tried to catch a bus or train from Anand Vihar, but police brought me to this shelter home. My son works in a factory in Rajasthan and he is also stuck there. I am waiting for my turn to go back to my home and I will never return," Shah said.
People from outside India are also stranded here.
Kamal Pokhi (40), a native of Rautahat district in Nepal, said he walked all the way from Jaipur to reach Delhi.
"I came to India in 2004 to spent my holidays in Goa and lost my bag there. I ran out of money and started working as a security guard in Goa. It is been 16 years now. In March, there was a senior citizen who died in front of the society at Kalyan in Mumbai where I worked as a guard.
"People started saying that he had died due to COVID-19 following which I left the city and reached Jaipur on March 24 in a truck. From Jaipur, I walked and reached Delhi on May 3. I just want to go to my home in Nepal," Pokhi said.
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