Facing starvation, chhole bhature vendors willing to sell brass utensils to return home

Aparna Banerji

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, March 29

Nearly 80 factory workers and vendors stuck at Bhogpur have run out of rations and have appealed to the administration to allow them move out.

Around 40 persons, who sell chhole bhature to make both ends meet, said they were ready to sell their brass pans if someone ensured their safe return to Bihar and UP.

Karan Singh, who hails from Bareilly, said, “We all live in rented accommodations here. We have run out of food and there is no work. We can sell our pans. First, we have to save our lives. The coronavirus has robbed us of our livelihoods. We can save our pans after we come back. But at present, our priority is to save our lives. Landlords are seeking rent from us and we have nothing to give.”

His associates from Dewariya, Kishannagar and other districts of UP are also stuck with him.

Workers of a sugar mill at Bhogpur say they didn’t receive their salaries for the past two months and the curfew has robbed them of anything little they had.

Natives of Bharatpur, Bihar and UP, the mill workers also live in rented accommodations. Shambhu, a worker, says, “We are 80 workers and of them, 40 to 45 are from UP. We are stuck here due to the curfew imposed to contain the spread of the coronavirus. We just seek resources to eat. We don’t have a permit or a pass to go out. How long our landlords will bear us? We work and earn our own livelihoods. Now, we don’t have anything left. Both money and rations have run out. We appeal to the government to send us to our homes or at least feed us.”

Another worker Munish says, “We are not getting food to eat. I have my wife and kids. My salary has also been stopped. I’m from UP and the company should provide us with basic support at least.”

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.