Amid Lockdown, 54 Migrants In Rajasthan Paint School As Thanks For Food

Amid tragic tales of migrant workers stranded far from home by the coronavirus lockdown and left without jobs, food or shelter, a heart-warming story has emerged from Rajasthan's Sikar district, where 54 daily wagers quarantined in two government-run schools for 22 days decided to give back to the community that fed and kept them safe.

The men, who, before the COVID-19 outbreak, had travelled from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh in search of employment, sought paint and brushes from the village sarpanch (chief) to give the schools a shiny new look.

Even the walls of the Shaheed Sitaram Kumawat and Seth KL Tambi Government Higher Secondary Schools have been painted and the gardens have been given a new lease of life, as the men spent their mornings maintaining the grounds.

"They give us such good food - jalebi, kheer and tea and biscuits. So we asked if we could do anything for them. The sarpanch said, "Why don't you paint the school?", Shankar Singh, who hails from Barwala in Haryana's Hisar district, said.

The men, who worked in the construction industry before the lockdown, were walking home, as lakhs of migrants were forced to after money dried up and inter-state transportation was shut, when they were stopped by police and brought to the school.

The village chief and the school principals made the necessary arrangements for their stay.

"When the SDM (sub-divisional magistrate) asked if we could house some migrants in our village, we readily agreed. We are making arrangements for food and lodging at our own cast; the entire village came forward to help," Roop Singh Shekhawat, the sarpanch, said.

"We give them Rajasthan food also and they have cleaned the school compound, painted the walls; we bought paint for Rs 1 lakh at our own expense. It is a very worthy effort on their part. They decided to help us and told us "we are workers and are used to working"," he adding, noting that the village was grateful to them.

"The school buildings, the compounds and the walls are getting a facelift it hasn't seen in years," Mr Shekhawat said.

Across the country lakhs of migrants have been left stranded by the strict lockdown meant to break the chain of transmission of the virus. Many, left without money, food and shelter, have been forced to walk thousands of kilometres in searing heat to return home.

Several have died, including a 12-year-old girl who collapsed just an hour from her home in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district and a 38-year-old man who died trying to walk from Delhi to Madhya Pradesh.

Last month the government had ordered states to provide "temporary accommodation, food, clothing, medical care" to migrant workers stranded around the country.

Heavily criticised over implementation of the lockdown, the government has also moved to re-start some economic activity (in non-containment zones only), including construction in rural areas, in a bid to bring the economy back on track and reduce the impact of the outbreak on the poorer sections of society.