Amit Kumar (23), a construction labourer, had hoped that his first child will be born in his hometown, Varanasi. But Amit and his eight-month pregnant wife Nitudevi (22), are among the 80 migrant workers, who are stranded at the construction site of a premium housing project at the 150-feet ring road. They had booked a ticket for April 7 to Varanasi. But after the lockdown was imposed in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic, they have been staying in a quarters of brick and steel sheets in the on-site labour colony. As the quarters turns into an oven in the afternoon, Nitudevi sits at the door to feel the cool breeze. "There is no one from our family here. I am concerned who will help her deliver the baby if we won't make it to Varanasi," says Amit, who does centring work and earns Rs 500 per day. As many as 2.11 lakh migrant workers are stranded in Rajkot after the lockdown, District Collector Remya Mohan said. Of them, 1.51 lakh have been given shelters and food by their employers while 66,000 have been given shelter by NGOs. Satish Belani, the builder who is constructing the residential apartment buildings, says he is providing all facilities to labourers. "We are not allowing workers to live in the under-construction building for fear of sanitation issues," Belani told The Indian Express. In another under-construction school building, as the midday sun becomes harsher, Arvind Mavi, a mason, takes his family to the fifth floor of the Sarvodaya School in Mavdi area. His son Tersing (6) and daughter Sejal (2) play on a swing tied to scaffolding. On March 29, Arvind and his family, along with several labourers, had tried to return to their hometown in Alirajpur district in Madhya Pradesh, around 450 km away from Rajkot. Stopped by police near Greenland Chowkdi, after walking around 15 km, they were made to board a bus which dropped them back at Punitnagar on the 150-feet ring road, around 1.5 km away from the school they were building. Tired after walking, Arvind's wife Sanjana (29) had slumped on the footpath. The family say that their labour contractor Mahesh Patel has been supplying them ration and money. As the lockdown gets extended, Arvind is worried about his brother Dilip's wedding which was scheduled for this summer. "April-May is the time when marriages happen in our community. But if we do not reach our home in a week, the marriage won't happen this year," says the mason. Left with no work due to the lockdown, the labourers say they are running out of their savings. Jalandhar Kumar (30), a native of Kalahandi district in Odisha earns Rs 700 a day for fabricating steel frames for beams and columns. He saved up Rs 45,000 in the last 14 years and wants to earn Rs 1 lakh more to buy a pickup truck to drive back home to Kalahandi. "I had come here to earn money but due to lockdown, I am losing it," says Jalandhar. RMC officials say that 3,938 construction workers have been given shelter on 320 construction sites in the city. "There are around 12,000 migrant workers in the city and around 8,000 went home in the initial days of lockdown. We have distributed 16,500 ration kits among these labourers. Builders are also providing them maintenance cost in the range of Rs 2000- 5000. Several NGOs have been serving these labourers meals," says Paresh Gajera, president of Rajkot Builders Association. Gajera adds that he has made a written representation to Chief Minister Vijay Rupani to permit resumption of construction activities.
