Migrant labourers decide to walk back home after thunderstorm destroys their shelter in Delhi

A group of migrant labourers living at a makeshift tent in Delhi’s Nathupura area decided to walk back to their native villages in UP and MP after their shelters were destroyed in the thunderstorm that hit the national capital on Sunday.

Delhi:The gusty winds and thunderstorm that hit Delhi on Sunday destroyed the makeshift tents of a group of migrant labourers living in Nathupura area forcing them to flee to their native villages on foot.

The migrant labourers hailing from the north Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh were working at road construction projects in Delhi, but have been out of work ever since the coronavirus-induced lockdown was imposed.

They were surviving on the food distributed by the government and some local NGO’s but found it to be insufficient.

“Our shelter got destroyed in the storm. Nobody is helping us in any way. They (government and local NGO) have been giving us rice and oil, but that isn’t sufficient. We are from MP and we need chapatis and vegetables to eat,” said a woman, who was part of the group of migrant labourers.

With no shelter and no money to build one, the group decided to march to their native villages, but as they reached Burari, they were stopped by some local policemen who enquired about their whereabouts.

Upon learning about their plight, the police personnel took them back to Nathupura and helped them build a shelter while providing them with food and water.