Satish Aditya
Raxaul : Under ‘Vande Bharat Mission’ of Government of India (GoI), altogether 15,194 migrant workers stranded in different towns, industrial hubs and brick kilns in Nepal returned to their home in India through Integrated Check-Post (ICP) at Raxaul in East Champaran district till June 9.
They were stuck in Nepal due to lockdown. Some of them were quarantined at various towns of Nepal during this period. They started returning from Nepal to India from May 26, 2020, after getting permission from Nepal government. Pankaj Kumar, Inchrge of Indian Immigration Office at IPC, Raxaul, on Indo-Nepal border, said that Indian workers were returning from Nepal daily and being screened at the ICP before being allowed to go to their respective destinations either in Bihar or other state. These returnees are mostly from north Bihar or Jharkhand state.
More than one thousand Indian migrant workers reached Raxaul in 6 days after walking 200 to 300 km carrying their luggage from mountainous areas of Nepal including Pokhara, Manokamana, and Narayanghat. Most of them were barefoot and developed boil on sole of their feet. The Sashashtra Seema Bal (SSB) official felt their pain and offered new sandals to each barefoot migrant workers.
Priyvrat Sharma, Commandant, 47th Battalion, SSB, deployed on Indo-Nepal border at Raxaul said that they offered sandals to barefoot workers on humanitarian ground after getting approval from headquarters. Video of the same has gone viral on social media showing the SSB jawans offering sandals to the Indian migrant workers. This reporter met some workers from Muzaffarpur, Siwan, Gopalganj, and Samastipur districts at ICP, Raxaul, the gateway of India. They narrated the painful experience of their journey.
Sunita Devi, 36, said they had been working at a brick kiln near Pokhara .She and her 5 year old son had taken only water during last three days. She reached Raxaul walking. But all the returnees were provided meal during last one week by Sima Jagran
Manch, said Mahesh Agrawal, President of Manch. Maha Vanijya Dutawas of India in Nepal , Customs, and other organizations
provided meal, water bottles, and medical aids to these returnees at Raxaul.