Hirawan Kumar worked at the recycling part of the assembly line at a Papermill in Tamil Nadu for the past fifteen years. He arrived and twenty-two days later the lockdown was implemented. Hirawan had no resources available, his contractor exploited him and beat him, and the policemen were of no help either. At his breaking point, he reached out to his family and requested for a safe ride back.
Tijabul Ansari was stranded in Katra, Jammu and Kashmir for almost a month without being able to purchase ration or earn any income. With his family worrying at home, he submitted the necessary forms, and attempted to leave but was refused thrice by the authorities present at the railway station. A contractor in Jammu reserved Tijabul a bus ride back to Bihar.
Sunil Prasad left Jogapatti, Bihar at the age of 22. He learned the skill of embroidery in Ludhiana that year. In 2003, Sunil moved back home with his wife and children. To feed a family of 7, he recently moved to Gurugram to work at a construction site. A few days after the lockdown, the odds of work resuming were further diminished, and their attempt to lease a vehicle from Gurgaon failed. Consequently, Sunil and nine others from his village decided to begin their journey afoot and hope for free-passage on the way.
Ranjay Kumar worked in Asansol, West Bengal to earn for this family in Gonauli, Bihar. He moved in 2010, returned home, migrated to Sonipat, Haryana. He returned home for a few months, followed by another move to Surat, Gujarat. The land Ranjay owns is infertile. It is necessary for the three brothers to split the house expenses. On 22nd March, Ranjay heard Janta Curfew guidelines on television news. It was forty-seven days later he was able to purchase train tickets.
Ram Kirpa Kumar left Bettiah to search for work in 2015. His family’s state was unstable, forcing the twenty-one-year-old to not study beyond 10th grade, instead, he assisted his father to support the family. He visited his village for Holi and reached back on the 16th of March. Three working days later, the ‘Janta Curfew’ was announced. With his landlord demanding rent for the month, no source of income, having to purchase ration on credit, and his parent’s distress, Ram decided to walk back with other laborers from the neighbourhood.
Rajan Kumar married after graduating high school. The pay at the time in Gonauli, Bihar was Rs. 3,000 through miscellaneous jobs at shops. Raj Kumar, Rajan’s brother, holds a B.A. degree yet is not able to find employment with adequate income. On 17th March 2020, the two arrived in Vadodra, Gujarat, and Delhi. Three days later, everything was shutdown. He was left with a total of Rs. 1,000, Raj approached the police for reservation in the train back to Bihar, and Rajan looked for alternatives. The process was delayed plenty, however, Raj paid Rs. 700 for the seat ordinarily available for Rs. 400. Furthermore, the tickets were to be free. Rajan contributed to rent a truck with his housemates and began the journey to Gonauli.
Rajan Kumar married after graduating high school. The pay at the time in Gonauli, Bihar was Rs. 3,000 through miscellaneous jobs at shops. Raj Kumar, Rajan’s brother, holds a B.A. degree yet is not able to find employment with adequate income. On 17th March 2020, the two arrived in Vadodra, Gujarat, and Delhi. Three days later, everything was shutdown. He was left with a total of Rs. 1,000, Raj approached the police for reservation in the train back to Bihar, and Rajan looked for alternatives. The process was delayed plenty, however, Raj paid Rs. 700 for the seat ordinarily available for Rs. 400. Furthermore, the tickets were to be free. Rajan contributed to rent a truck with his housemates and began the journey to Gonauli.
Pahlaj Patel moved to Manikapur, Uttar Pradesh from Bhitiarwa, Bihar. He was able to find work at a sugarcane farm. The lockdown left him without a stable source of income. He consulted a school teacher from the neighbourhood for the safest route back home. With him being one of the two earners in a family of ten, he prioritized the need of the family. After exhausting all possible methods due to safety concerns, Pahlaj and his coworkers purchased bicycles to ride to Bihar.
Moti Mohammad is a mason worker from Jogapatti, Bihar. He moved to Delhi in 2017 to learn stonework. In early 2020, Moti had adequate experience in the craft and moved to Pokhara, Nepal. On 23rd March, Nepal declared a nation-wide lockdown stranding Moti and his younger brother. Without any assurance of employment in the near future, and concern about his family back home — Moti and his brother decided to walk back to Bihar.
Mohammad Rahmat worked at a bakery in Chakan, Pune along with his brother. The two were the sole earners of the family; Rahmat had been doing this for ten years now. The lockdown blocked access to the bakery, the owner could no longer afford to pay. The two concluded the decision to begin their journey back on foot.
Mohammad Arbaaz Khan, at the age of twenty, set-out for a potential job opportunity in Aurangabad. He had studied till grade 10. To provide for a family of six; Arbaaz learned the skills required to be an electrician, and with it, he was being able to stitch bags. Without any warning, the lockdown was announced forcing Arbaaz and his colleagues stranded for a month and a half. While essential products were not the first concern, the distress and guilt about the inconvenience caused to his family due to the pandemic lead him to begin his journey back home.
Harinder Paswan worked at a sugarcane mill with his brother in Uttar Pradesh for the past six years. The two were earning Rs. 25,000 each for their families. He first encountered the virus when the locals warned them of an active case in the neighbouring village. With the lockdown barring his only source of income and forcing him to depend on Rs. 1,500 only, Harinder and his brother starved for a week before starting their journey back to Bihar.
Sanjeev, Bharat, Radhika, and Jagdish have spent the last six years working at the rail-lines. The four spent three months waiting in Gurgaon without ration, basic sanity, and the landlord threatening to evict if rent was not covered immediately. Survival was getting harder day after day, Leaving was the only choice.
Balak Shah left Gonauli, Bihar in 2004 at the age of 18. The opportunities were low-waged, thus — he decided to find work in Kolhapur, Maharashtra. For fifteen years he was able to provide sufficiently for his family of seven. The lockdown was implemented in Kolhapur on 22nd March, 2020 rendering Balak and his colleagues stranded. After struggling for twenty-five days, the fifteen stranded men were able to round up fifteen thousand rupees for the Gram Panchayat; procuring a safe ride back home.
Arjun Paswan migrated across the country performing agricultural tasks. For a family of eleven, he’d send Rs. 10,000 back home and limit his expenses to Rs. 1,200. The lockdown initiated the first of many struggles; for two months – he was stranded without a meal and tolerated torture by the policemen. During a phone call with his wife, Arjun realised his wife’s worry along with his distress and left for Bihar on a bicycle.
Umesh Munda worked in Hyderabad, Telangana, for the past five years. His income ranged from Rs.15,000 to Rs. 18,000 depending on the hours of overtime. In February, upon hearing of a possible spread of the Covid-19 virus, Umesh intuitively sent his family home. The work continued till the 27th of May. To risk contamination, and to do so without any family support was the spiralling thought in his head. Instead, he chose to register at the police station for a train ticket to Jharkhand.
Deepak Munda and Rakesh Prasad arrived in Bengaluru before the lockdown was declared. Rakesh had given his 10th-grade examination prior to his departure from Khakhra, Ramgarh, Jharkhand along with Deepak; he quit his job since there was a debt to pay. The two worked at Larsen & Toubro conducting the movement of pipelines. Since the lockdown, Deepak and Rakesh waited two and a half months before being able to safely return home.
Rajesh Kumar returned to Indra Reddy Nagar District, Telangana on 17th March to resume his driving work. He was able to work for two-days as the lockdown was implemented on the third. The contractor agreed to pay the amount it takes for him to reach home, however, he delayed it one day at a time, and two months later; Rajesh was forced to borrow from his wife’s self-help group in the village. With the money, he and others from the village began their journey on foot.
Dharmendra Mahto, one of the fifteen members of the family, spent his first three months of the year in Nellore, Andhra Pradesh. He drove in the radius of 4 k.m. The lockdown suppressed his only source of income not allowing him to purchase essential commodities. With only Rs. 4,000 remaining, and restricting his consumption to one meal a day, Dharmendra spent his savings on a bicycle that would ease his 15 day journey.
Mirza Afzal has spent his past two years at the reception of a clothing line in Gandhinagar, Delhi. For a family of seven, he and his father were the sole earners. He was not prepared for the lockdown and initially struggled without any source of income. With the help of his friends, Afzal drove home to safety.
Saddam Hussain heard about the virus first during his visit to the village for festivities. He returned to Hyderabad three days before the announcement of the lockdown. With his employer requesting him to wait for work to restart without compensating, Saddam exhausted his savings and was left with Rs. 500. He waited with his friend on the highway for three days, and the two were able to begin their journey back to Barabanki.
Rahul Maurya spent six years working on the assembly line at JBM in Mathura. He was well-informed about the virus because he remained updated through his smartphone, and the organisation conducted ‘Safety Diwas’ to spread information about the Covid-19 virus in early March. It was not until 24th March that Rahul became cognizant of the pandemic but continued to wait for work to resume. Two months later, his co-workers and friends started to depart to their villages. To avoid unnecessary risk, Rahul also decided to take a train back home.
Niyaz has been in Bhupalapalli doing embroidery work for Rs. 700 a day as opposed to Rs. 1,000 a week in Barabanki. The working environment was stable until the lockdown. His employer refused to pay the salary, provide food, or cover rent. With the savings depleting day-by-day, Niyaz requested a small amount from his family to make a safe journey back to Uttar Pradesh.
Mohammad Zubair worked as an embroider in Uttar Pradesh. He visited his family for Holi. At the time, there was no threat from the Covid-19 virus. The announcement of the lockdown prompted a nervous sensation. The pandemic intercepted his only source of livelihood, limiting his expenses to food from the ration store. Mohammad Zubair awaits any paid opportunity to attain the lifestyle he maintained before the spread of the Corona Virus.
Mohammad Salim migrated to Maheshwari in Madhya Pradesh with his wife and kids because of the decline in employment opportunities in Bansa. The lockdown announcement eliminated the only source of income pushing the family to rely on savings as they waited for work to resume. Two and a half months later, the lockdown extended further, and by then, he had exhausted most of the savings. Salim’s family sent money for their son and his family to rent a safe ride back home.
Mohammad Ayaz spent his past six months in Bhupalapalli working as an embroiderer to a small business owner. He visited home in late February and returned to Hyderabad in March. The pandemic was declared almost a month later. Ayaz spent the last of his earnings on food and rent for a month as he waited for work to resume. The family back home contributed to supply essentials for their son. Mohammad received his pass on his smartphone with instructions from the Bhupalapalli police station to wait. Fifteen days later, the policemen were not too certain of the train tickets, instead, they agreed to issue a movement pass. It was then that he rented a vehicle with other locals and made the thirty-six-hour journey home.
Imran operated a power loom in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra for Rs. 9,000 every two weeks. He updated himself concerning the virus through his smartphone. At the announcement of the lockdown, his work shut-down, and the employer could not afford to pay his salary. Imran and twenty-eight others from Rampur, residing in Bhiwandi, debilitated by the siege of income, compiled their savings for an SUV back to Uttar Pradesh.
Amit Kumar worked at Richa Global sewing sports items in Noida, Uttar Pradesh for the past seven years. He earned Rs. 10,332 every month to cover the expenses of a family of three. The lockdown shutdown the manufacturing-plant, and forced him to borrow Rs. 12,000 to cover rent and other expenses. There was no certainty of a roof over his head, food on his plate, or a source of income, Amit returned to Barabanki.