Hitching rides on trucks, highway pit stops in the heat — migrants continue their walk home

As the lockdown continues and Covid pandemic remains a concern, migrants are still leaving cities to be home with their families in villages in UP and Bihar.

A truck offers migrant workers a lift on the highway | Suraj Singh Bisht | ThePrint

Kushinagar/Sant Kabir Nagar: The Centre has allowed movement of migrants from one state to another through trains and buses in the extended nationwide lockdown to fight the coronavirus pandemic. But many, tired of waiting for a seat on these modes of transport, continue to walk miles from Maharashtra, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh, among other states, to their villages in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

In what can be considered an unprecedented reverse migration, especially in the North Indian states, migrants continue to travel in groups hoping to reach their villages. At the border, the administration did carry out their screening, and only after assessing their risk factor, allowed them to pass.

ThePrint met many such migrants walking on the highway leading to Patna, Kushinagar, Sant Kabir Nagar and Basti.

Some of them had undertaken a journey of more than 10 days, which included hitching rides on trucks. Many told ThePrint they were travelling with as little as biscuits and some water to last them the journey, while a few lucky ones had chivda (flattened rice).

These men cycled for more than 1,000 km to reach their home in Sant Kabir Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, from Chandigarh. Now, they have to stay away from their families as they undergo quarantine at a nearby school. Though they tested negative for Covid-19, they have kept at the school | Suraj Singh Bisht | ThePrint

Migrant workers disembark from a truck in Basti, Uttar Pradesh | Suraj Singh Bisht | ThePrint

Migrant labourers have been on a quest to get back home. Here, they are seen sitting on the road near the Uttar Pradesh-Bihar border as they wait for their turn to be screened | Suraj Singh Bisht | ThePrint

All these migrant labourers and workers are walking from Delhi and travelling to patna and were seen were seen maintaining social distancing among themselves | Photo: Suraj Singh Bisht | ThePrint

The workers look for some lift services ,trying to stop running trucks that will take them their to hometown | Photo: Suraj Singh Bisht | ThePrint

Workers take a short break on the NH-28 in Uttar Pradesh. People have continued walking the hundreds of kilometres to their villages despite the scorching heat | Suraj Singh Bisht | ThePrint