In an attempt to reach UP from Haryana, nearly 3,000 migrants have been silently crossing the Yamuna river holding rubber tubes at night.?
Since the past few weeks, social media has been flooded with stories of migrants going through unspeakable suffering amid the nationwide lockdown.?
This is just another instance of the troubles they have been facing to reach their native times while risking their lives doing so.?
According to a TOI report, every night for the past few days nearly 3,000 migrant workers, children included, have been jumping into the Yamuna holding rubber tubes to stay afloat.
For the uninitiated, Yamuna river doubles up as the border between UP and Haryana on a 70-km stretch in Saharanpur.?
The river also marks Uttar Pradesh's border with Haryana in Shamli and Baghpat district.?
Speaking to TOI, Divisional commissioner (Saharanpur) Sanjay Kumar said, "Some 3,000 people could be doing this every night, at great risk to themselves and their families. They pay between Rs 200 and Rs 300 to use the worn-out tubes, which are already in bad shape and may burst anytime putting the lives of those holding it in the middle of the river in jeopardy."?
A labourer said their goal was to reach home and they'll do it one way or another. If the government helps them, well and good but if they don't get help, they have no choice but to resort to these unsafe measures.?
?Saharanpur police recently arrested three persons for allegedly facilitating the migrants¡¯ crossover in lieu of money.?
¡°We have strict instructions to allow entry to only those workers who have been medically screened by the Haryana government. But there are thousands of them who have not undergone the mandatory process and are trying every means to cross over even if it is life-threatening. Facilitators are providing them rubber tubes for Rs 200-300. It is dangerous as the river¡¯s water level keeps fluctuating and to man such a long water border is very difficult,¡± said Dinesh Kumar P, SSP, Saharanpur.
Dinesh Kumar also adds that the influx of migrants is overwhelming and on a daily basis they are taking in more than 12,000 to 1,500 migrants. While some make it through official channels like buses and trains, others take the arduous route of crossing the river,?
Officials have now identified the roads the migrants take after crossing the river and authorities have been deployed at specific points to screen them for infections and put them in mandatory quarantine.?
Bordering Haryana and Uttarakhand, the movement of migrants in Saharanpur is high. Many from states like Punjab and even Kashmir take this route, reports TOI.?
Wholesale workers from a vegetable market in Panipat also took this precarious route to reach home after their employer stopped helping them with food and shelter amid lockdown.?