New Delhi, May 1 (IANS): Its been a month since Soni Gautam, who is expecting her first child, shifted to the government shelter camp near Anand Vihar. Now with the announcement by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to ferry the migrant labourers back to their native places, she has gained hope.

Similar is the story of Guddu, a seven-year-old child, who is also stuck at the government shelter camp in Delhi along with his uncle. Now, he is happy that he shall be able to meet his father and mother back at home soon.

Seema Devi had arrived at the Ghazipur government shelter camp on March 29 along with her husband when rumour spread that buses were plying to ferry people back to their native place in Uttar Pradesh. However, they had to settle at the camp, set up in a government school.

Since then, she, and 365 other migrants, have been residing there.

Speaking to IANS, she said: "I am happy that finally we will be able to go to our home in Hardoi."

Noting that the Delhi government had made adequate arrangements for them at the shelter camp and proper food is also being provided to them, she said: "Now I want to reach my home as soon as possible when the buses are arranged by the state government."

Guddu said that he is happy that he shall meet his mother and father in Uttar Pradesh's Hardoi.

His uncle Pramod Singh said: "His father and mother returned from the bus to Hardoi on March 26. We were also supposed to go back, but then suddenly all bus services were stopped and we were left stranded here."

Asked how he spends his time at the government camp, Guddu said that he plays in the playground in the evening and during the day he spends time with other small kids in the camp.

Meanwhile, the migrants from Bihar urged Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to arrange buses for their return to the state.

Dharmendra Yadav, a resident of Darbhanga, who is also at the government shelter camp in Delhi, said: "We have heard that Yogi Adityanath is arranging for the return of their people from other states."

"We also want to go back to our homes. We appeal to Nitish Kumarji to arrange for our return," he said.

Dharmendra said that he ran a rickshaw Delhi to earn his livelihood.

Dhananjay Yadav, a resident of Bhagalpur, said that they are waiting to go back to our homes.

He rued that many states have announced the transportation of their people from other states. "But we have not heard a single word from Nitish Kumar," he said.

Speaking to IANS, R Ravi Chandran, 56, who worked as an assistant scrutiny officer in the recruitment cell of the Delhi government's directorate of education (DoE) and is now currently the warden at the SKV school in Ghazipur, said: "As of date 365 people have been living at the shelter camp. And now these people have become homesick."

Now with the announcement by the state governments, they are excited also to go back to their homes, he added.

Asked if any list is being prepared for the migrants' return, he said that they were not doing any such thing. "But we are getting calls from the Gram Pradhan and Sarpanches of the native villages of these people," he said.

Chandran, along with three other officials of the Delgi government has not taken a single day leave since March 24 after the lockdown was announced on March 23 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He said that while the state government arranged for the stay of these people, "we arranged some small things for them by collecting money from fellow officers to meet their small demands like mobile recharges, face masks etc".

(Anand Singh can be contacted at anand.s@ians.in)

--IANS

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