Lucknow: As the ten-day Ganesha festival comes to an end and Mumbai prepares to return to work, migrants who had returned to Uttar Pradesh are also to return to work in the 'maximum city'.
'I have spent two months at my home in Bahraich but could not find any suitable work for myself. I was working as a house manager in the home of a senior executive in Navi Mumbai. There is no such work there and I cannot dig drains under MGNREGA. My employer has called me twice and I will return to Mumbai this week," said Harikesh, 38.
Ranjan Prasad, a technician in an air-conditioning firm in Mumbai, had come home for Holi but got stuck in Uttar Pradesh due to the lockdown. His firm has reopened and he says he is returning to ensure a better life and education for his children.
"Yes, the corona scare continues, but now I feel that it is better to die of corona than hunger. If I do not return to work, how will my family subsist?" he asked.
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He said that Mumbai, according to his friends there, was ready to return to work in full force after the Ganpati festival and there would be no shortage of work.
"This time, I will make sure that I remain prepared for another situation like the lockdown. I will save money and stock up on essential commodities," said Prasad.
Noor Mohammad, Vishwas Kumar and Raju Pathak, all residents of Barabanki district, were working as tailors in a garment factory in Mumbai.