By Express News Service
BELAGAVI: Two migrant workers, employed by a private civil contractor as centring workers on a construction site in Bengaluru, walked 600-km on railway tracks from Bengaluru to Belagavi on their way home in Madhya Pradesh.
The duo — Pawan Dhurve, a resident of Azwar Rayat and Funde Mithusingh Lal from Kundwari (Both in Dindori district) — fears that they would have to suffer the similar crisis which the migrant workers faced last year due to the Covid crisis.
A gateman at the railway gate near Gandhi Nagar in Belagavi stopped them when he found them walking on the railway tracks on Thursday. Tired and exhausted, the two had decided to walk to their hometowns via Maharashtra on the railway tracks. The duo had lost their jobs after the death of their employer and was unpaid for some days. The duo did not have money to buy a train ticket.
The two were extremely scared of the worsening situation in Bengaluru due to the outbreak of Covid second wave and therefore, decided to walk to MP along the railway tracks from Bengaluru. They did not have any hope of getting any work in the Covid-ravaged Bengaluru either.
According to them, they left Bengaluru with the hope to reach MP on foot and decided to go along the railway tracks. On reaching the railway gate near Gandhi Nagar in Belagavi, they met the railway department gateman there who asked them where they were going.
The gateman Umesh Aptekar said the two asked him whether the railway tracks lead to Pune. On knowing that they were in deep trouble and ready to walk to MP, Aptekar offered them food and water, and immediately contacted activists Ravi Nirmalkar, Sachin Kelvekar Raju Mutkekar, and Shubhak Shelke, all from Belagavi, who not only arranged food and a room for their stay but also bought train tickets for them to ensure their safe journey back home.
The two daily-wagers left for MP by Goa Express on Thursday thanking all the activists from Belagavi who came to their rescue on time.
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