"They will not let vehicles move on the road. Where should we go, while carrying all this stock. Even if a hotel gives us roti, they (police) are not letting them do so. We will not die with coronavirus, but we will die with hunger," a visibly exhausted G Avnesh Kumar (33) says as he lies down for a nap under his truck.
GAvneshKumar, Ranveer, truck drivers of #Bareilly(UP), started frm #Delhi to #Hyd on 17th March& entered in Telangana by 21st March.Stuck on NH44 over 130km away frm Hyd.Just watch wt Avnesh is telling. @dhanyarajendran @rgmlk @thenewsminute pic.twitter.com/tRrgHfPn7p
— CharanTeja (@CharanT16) March 28, 2020
His truck, parked along National Highway 44 in Telangana, around 130 km from Hyderabad, has been forced to halt since Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a complete lockdown of inter-state movement for 21 days, to tackle the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Several lakh people, especially truck drivers and cleaners, have been stranded along highways since the lockdown as they were halfway in transit when the announcement was made.
Like Avnesh, there were around 20 to 25 drivers waiting for the lockdown to lift, their vehicles halted near a petrol pump between Nizamabad and Kamareddy, a little over 100 km away from their destination. Ranveer Singh and Avnesh are friends, hailing from Bareilly of Uttar Pradesh. Both work in a company that is based in Delhi and transport a well-known brand of Air Conditioners (ACs) to different parts of the country ahead of summer's arrival.
Ranveer complains, "We are not saying that there should not be actions to prevent COVID-19, but there should be some alternative for people like us. Police are not letting these roadside hotels to run, and that's how we get food regularly. It's been five days since our rations got over."
Rajveer Sharma, 33, who is from Nadosi and Prabha Shankar, in his early 20's, from Madoli in Bareilly of Uttar Pradesh are employees with a mattress transport company based in Uttarakhand's Pantnagar. Besides fuel and maintenance, their contractor gave them Rs 7,000 as meal allowances, which is supposed to last them their entire journey. They will travel through Chennai and finally unload in Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu.
Rajveer says, "We were chased away from the border of Maharashtra and Telangana. The police don't let me halt at some place or even let us park the vehicles on the service road. If we want to go back, there is no means of transport. We even told our contractor that we want to go back, but he is saying that things will be alright soon."
Jithendra Yadav, 32, from Firozabad says, "I have money, but money doesn't matter. What is the point if hotels are not giving food. Groceries I have with me are over."
Pappu Ram hails from Alwar of Rajasthan, and like Yadav and the others, has also been stranded. Pappu Ram and Yadav shared whatever they had for two days. Pappu asked this reporter if he could get some groceries in a nearby village, some three to four kilometres away. He knows he has to walk that distance and back, but knowing there is food to buy there, he prepares to leave.
Several other truck drivers said that they survived the last few days with whatever they had in their baskets. Most of these truck drivers don't know what COVID-19 is, until they were stranded before reaching their destinations. All of them have driven more than 1300 -1400 km across the country, and are now concerned about the well-being of their families.
Besides truck drivers who are stranded, the highways also saw many migrant labourers attempt to go back to their native places on foot, from Telangana.
Salman Khan (27) is from Allahabad of Uttar Pradesh while his friend Santhosh Saha comes from Devendarpur of Narayanghat in Nepal. Khan has to cross state borders, while Saha has to cross the international border, to reach home.
Unlike truck drivers who are stranded, they both have a different story to tell. Both have been friends for the last few years. Saha works at a hotel in Hyderabad for Rs 10,000 a month while Khan works for the same amount in Vijayawada.
Soon after the lockdown announcement, Salman Khan started from Vijayawada on foot and met his friend in Hyderabad on March 25. They both started walking from Hyderabad on the morning of March 26. By the afternoon of March 27, they managed to reach the Kamareddy - Nizamabad district border on NH44.
Both wore masks and carried a bag each. Walking slowly along the highway, the sounds of their chatter was heard from several metres away, thanks to the absence of honks and sounds of vehicles. They agreed to chat with TNM under the shade of a roadside tree.
Salman Khan says, "What should I tell you? We were not that educated to know what was happening. Walking is the only option that is left to us." The duo managed to get lifts in trollies/autos and local lorries, thanks to which they managed to cover 150 km in one day. Salman has to travel for another 1,000 kms while Saha has to go further, about 1,400 kms to Narayanghat in Nepal on the border with India.
When asked about what they were doing for food, Saha says, "We are spotting small stores from time to time and eating whatever we are finding on our way." His owner gave him his salary for March and explained the situation. Saha says "I didn't want to be a burden over here and moreover my parents are bothered about the situation."
Saha hopes that he will reach his place in four to five days. Unfortunately, he doesn't know that the transport between Telangana and Maharashtra has been barred, with only vehicles carrying essential items allowed to cross the border. When asked about it, he says "Something will happen. Someone will help us and I will definitely reach my place.
Meanwhile, Telangana Chief Minister on Sunday, addressing the media, announced that the state government will provide 12 kg of rice and give Rs 500 cash to each of the 3.5 lakh migrant labourers of other states who are stranded in the state.