SHILLONG: More than 300 people from Garo Hills, mostly migrant labourers, are stranded in the city for the past two days and yearning to return home while their counterparts here complain of not having enough for survival.
The group of 315 migrant labourers, including a few from Assam, has been put up at the JN Stadium, which has been turned into a temporary relief camp.
Rominson Marak, hailing from Rajabala, said that they have been in the relief camp since the last two days.
“We came here to work, but now we want to go back home”, he said. They were initially kept at the Meghalaya Transport Corporation building in Police Bazar.
He said that there was no word from the administration as to when they would be allowed to return home.
“We are getting enough food here and government officials have told us that they are trying their best to send us back home,” he said.
Another labourer, who identified himself as Kerry Sangma, said that he hailed from Goalpara district of Assam and had come here to work.
“I was working in Nongmynsong and we are here since the past two days and only hope to reach our homes at the earliest”, he said.
The district administration is making arrangements for their food and other necessities and on Wednesday, some good Samaritans also joined in and provided them with food.
Meanwhile, some officials posted at the stadium said that they had suggested to the government to medically examine the group and send them back to their respective places but there has been no response yet.
Officials also informed that the number of people in the relief camp was dynamic as every day some people leave while others come in.Scarcity stares
Meanwhile, an NGO said that migrant workers and the underprivileged were complaining of not getting enough for their survival.
Speaking to The Shillong Times, member of SPARK, Shima Modak, said the condition of the underprivileged was pathetic. “The condition is harsh”, she said.
SPARK has been able to provide 167 families in Umiam, Mawlong (Umsawli), Mawlynrei Traishnong with rice and other essential items. She said the supplies will last at least a week.
She said the people, mainly daily wage earners, are facing a water crisis, which aggravates their misery as they are required to wash their hands frequently with soap to avoid contracting the dreaded coronavirus; hand sanitisers and essential commodities are also scarce.
She said SPARK is also generating awareness and providing medical care as much as possible.
Modak said that while the poor in Shillong were at least getting something to eat, the condition of those on the city’s outskirts was worse. She has also requested the government to engage social workers in aiding the poor and needy while requesting people to come forward and help those in need.
As for following government protocols in slums, Modak said that these areas are congested with 8-10 people living in a single room.
A slum dweller near Ajmera Marbles, carpenter Sukur Ali, said that there was not enough food to eat and said that rice should be distributed to them to enable them to cook on their own.
An elderly lady, Suleima Begum, said that she has a high sugar level, but cannot afford medicines as these would cost around Rs 2000.
Rows of water gallons line the roadside, evidence of the scarcity.
Ali said that the Ajmera Marbles owner would usually give water once a day but due to the lockdown, they are allowing it twice — in the morning and evening.
