Bengaluru: Less than 2 months after they struggled to board special trains and/or walked thousands of kilometers to reach their native places because of lockdown repercussions on their jobs, income, and the fear of contracting COVID19 in an alien place, the migrant labor has begun to return to Bengaluru.

Perhaps if the situation was managed better in March itself, this exodus and return to the promised land could have been avoided.

According to police sources, migrants on their return journey from districts like Raichur, Belagavi, Vijayapura, Hubballi can be seen every day. “They are using hired vehicles including tractors to return,” said a police officer. ‘A visit to the dhabas on the roadside reveals this new trend,” he said.

According to officials at the Railways, the demand to start trains from Odisha, UP, and Bihar is increasing.

“People want to return now. But really, there is no meaning in returning now as the COVID 19 cases are in a surge in Bengaluru,” said an officer from Bengaluru.

“There is an urgent need to stop this reverse migration. Else, the health infrastructure may crumble under pressure,” he warned and that’s the flip side.

Pic Courtesy: Logicalindan.com