With little or no money left in their pockets and no earning opportunities in the city, hundreds of migrant workers in Mumbai and nearby areas are setting off on long walks to their native villages hundreds of kilometres away.
When asked why they were leaving, Priti, carrying her 11-month-old son, said, "What choice do we have? We have no money to buy food. How will we survive during this lockdown? What will I feed my 11-month-old. We have no option other than to walk to our native places, where we can stay with our families and survive for the time being."
The migrants workers, most of them on foot and some even on bycycles, were seen on the Mumbai-Nashik highway.
A migrant worker, who drives a taxi in Mumbai, said that he used to live in the taxi but since the lockdown he has no income and no place to live either.
"I don't even have any money for food. If I don't go to my native place. I will starve here. We tried applying for the train journey to our native place. But the police siad that there are no trains," he said. So, he decided to take a 20-day walk home.
Another migrant worker, who works as a carpenter, narrated a similar story. "We survive by working every day. We have been left with no money or food. Its getting harder and harder to survive in the city. My father and I are going to my village where my mother is waiting for us," he said.
The migrant workers said that they walk in the evening, night and early hours of the day to avoid the scorching summer heat and take shelter during the day.
Some NGOs have been helping these migrants.
One such team of doctors, affiliated with the RSS near Kalyan area, was seen helping them by providing food, medicines, etc.
"Since May 1, we are seeing this exodus here. Thousands of migrants from Mumbai, Kalyan, and Thane cities have been walking to their native places. We are a small team and we are helping as much as we can," Dr Prashant Pingle, one of the doctors, said.
He said that most migrant workers suffer from dehydration and muscle pain due to the long walk, for which they provide them ORS, pain killers and some food.
"In the last four to five days, we have also seen women carrying their young kids and men with their elderly parents on the shoulders. We tried to convince them that they should not go to their native palces in these conditions. But, we are told that they have no other option," Dr Pingle said.
( With inputs from ANI )