The lockdown has created an appalling situation for our migrant workers and labourers. It’s been over a month now, many of them are still trying to get back home in villages that are far flung, and more often than not, inaccessible.
Helpless and homeless, they are forced to do things they wouldn’t have done otherwise. Like this one migrant worker who had to steal a bicycle to travel 250 km to his home with his differently-abled child.
What’s more heartbreaking is that he left an apology letter for the owner of the bicycle expressing his helplessness.
The incident was reported from Rarah village in Bharatpur, Rajasthan. Mohammad Iqbal, a migrant worker from Bareilly in UP stole a cycle from Sahab Singh’s house on the night of 11th May. Later, Singh found an apology letter while sweeping his verandah.
He apparently left a note for Singh, which he found while sweeping the verandah.
The note read:
Main aapki cycle lekar ja raha hoon. Ho sake toh mujhe maaf kar dena ji. Mere paas koi saadhan nahin hai. Mera ek bachha hai uske liye mujhe aisa karna pad raha hai kyunki woh viklaang hai.
A picture of the note going viral on social media is breaking people’s hearts.
Hungry for days and walking hundreds of kilometres to their homes, this is just another incident of the migrant workers’ plight. And it shatters our hearts to see their helplessness.