Facing an uncertain future, migrants return to Bihar

Muzaffarpur (Bihar), May 14 :The worry about the future and the pain of being unsettled is very visible on the faces of the thousands of migrants returning to their homes in Bihar. A special train carried more than 1,600 migrant workers from Ahmedabad to Muzaffarpur on Wednesday. Each one of them had a story to narrate but the underlying concern was about the future. With no means to earn a livelihood in their home towns, the future for most looked dark. The workers said that there was nothing left for them in Ahmedabad, and so they had to return to their native places. One of the labourers said, "When the lockdown was first announced, we heard that many labourers were walking hundreds of kilometres to return to their homes. We also wanted to return to our homes at that time but were stopped by the local administration after promising to provide us with all the basic facilities. But later on, we got nothing." Krishna Kumar of Motihari, along with some other labourers, walked out of the platform carrying a bag and water bottle. They all used to work as masons and labourers in a big construction company. All of them now say they will live by eating salt and bread, but will not go to other states to work. comments powered by Disqus