TURA: A group of migrant workers, believed to have been working in illegal coal mines or coke factories in the Shallang area of West Khasi Hills, were intercepted by North Garo Hills police as they attempted to cross into neighbouring Assam on Thursday morning.
The twenty-five member group, including four women and four children, had reportedly begun their march on foot all the way from the Shallang region, a distance of 62 kms, since the last few days crossing first into East Garo Hills and then onwards towards the northern district that shares a long inter-state border with Assam.
“They may have evaded police pickets along the route by using jungle paths wherever possible until they were intercepted at Dainadubi point,” said North Garo Hills police chief Abraham T Sangma.
As several villages located along the inter-state border had put up barricades restricting the entry of outsiders, the migrants were compelled to move along the main road when they were caught. They all hail from Goalpara district of Assam.
While hunger and the urge to return home moved the migrants to undertake this challenging journey, it also exposes the possibility of illegal mining still taking place in the coal belt areas of Shallang.
It is believed that the continuous lockdown and lack of food supplies may have compelled the operators of the illegal mining to push the workers out.
Meanwhile, the district administration has moved all 25 of the migrants to a relief camp set up at Bangsi Apal school where the inmates are being provided with food and shelter.
Deputy commissioner S C Sadhu said that the migrants will remain in the relief camp until the lockdown rules are relaxed.
“We will decide on their repatriation only after April 20th lockdown which will depend on the directions given by the government,” informed Sadhu.
Besides these 25 migrant workers who were caught attempting to cross over during the lockdown, there is also another batch of 19 immigrants who were caught earlier attempting to enter the region during the lockdown. They have been placed inside a quarantine centre set up at Daram village in the district.