Cuttack: Several inexplicable stories have come to the fore amid this ongoing lockdown period. Two brothers from Medinipur area in West Bengal have a similar story to share.
This correspondent spotted the elder brother, named Javed Hasim, taking rest near Gopalpur bridge. When asked what made them to embark on such a strenuous 453 kilometres long cycle journey, he went on narrating their ordeal.
Javed said they had come to Odisha in search of work three years ago. Initially they used to work in Balasore town and in its nearby areas. Despite their hard labour, their earnings would fall short to meet family expenses, let alone savings.
So they shifted to Khurda town to work in a tile factory last year. “Few months ago we had gone to our village to give the money we saved to our families. After returning from our village, it was hardly ten days of our rejoining duty when the nationwide lockdown was announced, rendering us jobless,” he said.
“Initially we thought things would be normal after some days. In Khurda town we were staying in a rented accommodation. With the lockdown period being extended, the little money we had was exhausted after some days. For the last 20 days, it had become more difficult to get something to fill our stomachs. Taking pity on us, some local people used to give us some food. We had even lost our sleep thinking about what would be the situation ahead,” he narrated.
As if the lockdown blues were not enough, the news of their mother being ill for seven days reached them over phone. “Finding no other way out, we got two passes from Khurda police station, took two cycles and set out on our journey,” he said, saying he and his younger brother started their journey from Khurda at the same time. But his younger brother was far behind him.
When asked if they received any government assistance, he said, “We did not receive any help from Khurda district administration, nor did the West Bengal government come forward to help us out.”
PNN