Balrampur (UP), Apr 22 (PTI) Jobless in Jhansi after the coronavirus lockdown, seven migrant workers walked nearly 500 kilometres to reach their village here.
The labourers said they remained 20 days without work in Jhansi after the nationwide lockdown was imposed.
Then, as their savings ran out, they decided to set out on foot for their village, Khadar in Balrampur district's Pachpedwa area.
The trek home took seven days. They reached here on Monday and have been home quarantined by the authorities.
Shiv Prasad was desperate to reach home also because of his sick mother.
"I got information that my 80-year-old mother was ill. I was longing to see her and decided to head home, he said.
We did not have any food with us. But hunger did not deter us. Our only aim was to reach our destination, he added.
We faced difficult situations often but did not lose hope, he said.
They walked day and night, often just getting four or five hours of sleep, according to Shiv Prasad. Local people, and sometimes policemen, gave them food, he said.
Our only job was to walk. We would rest under a tree when we felt tired and after stopping for 10 or 20 minutes, we started again," he added.
Prabhudayal is among those who accompanied him when they set out from Jhansi on April 14.
We had hoped to get a lift from some passing vehicle but had no such luck, he said. My mobile also fell somewhere while I was running after a vehicle."
"We walked almost continuously for nearly seven days, Prabhudayal said. Just the thought of their waiting families egged them on, he added.
Superintendent of Police Dev Ranjan Verma said the seven labourers were screened and then sent into home quarantine for 14 days.
A police team is keeping an eye on them to ensure that they do not mingle with others, he added.
