Migrant workers await a ride home at Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border

A large number of migrant workers, along with their families, were seen waiting in Gazipur at Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border for a ride back to their homes amid the ongoing coronavirus-induced lockdown on Monday.

Many of them state that they had no employment for nearly two months due to the COVID-19 lockdown and have little or no money left.

"It has almost been almost two months since lockdown. I have not had any work during this time. We have spent all our savings. We don't even have the money to travel back home. We are thinking about walking home now," Raju, a construction worker with a family of 11 members, told on Monday.

We thought we might get a ride on a bus or train back home from here, he said.

"Instead, we have been asked by the police to wait for the time being. We are uneducated. We don't know what is happening. All we know is that we heard we are now allowed to travel back home and we came here in hope of getting a ride to our native place," Raju said.

Another migrant worker, seen sitting under a flyover in Gazipur with his family of five, said they have no other option but to try and walk back to their home hundreds of kilometres away.

"There are five members in my family including children. We came to Delhi from Jammy Tawi via train. We were dropped here by bus from the railway station. However, the bus was stopped and we were asked to stay here for now. They are not allowing us to go any further," said Bhagwan Singh, who is headed for Bhind in Madhya Pradesh.

This comes even as migrant workers are being ferried back to their home states in buses and trains across the country as the fourth phase of the lockdown, imposed to prevent the spread of coronavirus, comes into effect with further relaxations.

( With inputs from ANI )