With a dream of flights, a road home!

Author: Nigam Arora; Edited by: Tufail Farooq

“Wandering the roads with a hope to reach home are the ones promised with the facility of flights once”

Yes, every government when comes into force makes a lot of promises to helpless poverty stricken citizens as well as the labour class of the country showing them greener side of better well-being but by the time possible beneficiaries of the govt. schemes and relief packages are revealed, every promise vanishes like it was not even a part of the election manifesto.

These people who end up being betrayed are responsible for most of the economic activities and growth in the G.D.P of the country. But they are often treated as a mere source of productivity and not as deserving people of the country. Every time a poor labourer suffers, the country suffers, its Economy suffers.

In April 2017, the Hon'ble Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Damodar Das Modi dreamt of an India with the poor, poverty stricken and labour class people to travel by air from one part of India to another by paying a small amount of fare and many more schemes for these people but with time, all these promises and dreams began to vanish as the on ground reality was totally different and shocking.

The COVID-19 pandemic has somehow leaked out major holes in the policy infrastructure of many countries including India. In India, labourers in different states working away from their native places were dealt a really tough hand as they are always at the lagging end of the policies framed by various states to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The poor labourers have been left on their own to survive with no arrangements or facilities to retain them at their place of work or for their evacuation to their homes. They have become so desperate that most of them helplessly started on foot to reach their homes facing every unimaginable odd and many of them have faced tragic consequences of death.

In the times when the pandemic of CORONA VIRUS hit India, the gossipy promises of the govt. began to appear. From the distribution of ration to the poor and poverty stricken class to migration to their native homes, all arrangements had loopholes.

The govt. claimed of providing free ration to 80 crore people of the country i.e. 60% of the total population but the ground reality of ration distribution was hurting and rather disturbing.

Most of the people are tired, sitting back and relaxing at their homes bored and exhausted with less entertainment in life, some trying to cook new cuisines, some finding new ways of working out and some trying to help needy donating basic necessities.

With the poor ration distribution system, there is another issue being ignored by the administrations of the states and centre. i.e. the return of the poor and labour class people back to their native homes.

Yes! This is harsh and unexpected. The poor labour class people working in other states for their livelihood were left on their own when came upon the govt. to help them returning back their native home. Some left for their home barefoot, some died on railway tracks in a bid to use them as navigation to their state, while some died of exhaustion while walking to their destinations, some pregnant women delivered on roads while travelling, some dead were denied ambulance facilities by the hospitals and some were beaten by the police.

These people already hit by adversity were not taken care of by any state govt but were rather blamed and tarnished as the carriers of the corona virus. These people who participate in the election and play a vital role in the economy of the country were left unattended while those who are studying or staying abroad working and voting for other countries were given due consideration for their return back to India.

What an Irony!

Working, Voting and Living in your own country, Contribution in own country's economy, democratic process and voting for the betterment of India but still no hopes of help from the govt. with a mere basic demand to die, if it comes to that, under their own roofs.

Many questions have arisen such as If govt. is providing help, why people are still suffering?, If proper arrangements are made for returning back home, why this poor class has to go own their own? The State Govts and Centre both are to be tested for various claims that have reached press but very few can hold water. But this is not the end of hope because the many good Samaritans of India are contributing in every possible way to help the needy.

Keep contributing Indians, Keep making our people feel like home wherever they are, Help them! Because at the end of the day its we who will win, The sun will rise again with a new life that will only be more subtle.  .

Till then, #stayhomestaysafe

The author is a young entrepreneur from Katra, Jammu.