Won't return to Valley again, say migrant labourers as they reach homeland
Kolkata: Majority of the 138 migrant labourers expressed that they will not go back to Kashmir again for work, as they came back to the city on Monday afternoon.
They have made their way back aboard Jammu Tawi Express, with the state government and the Army joining hands to facilitate their safe return. It may be recalled that five of their co-workers were killed in Kashmir on October 29.
"I went to Jammu and Kashmir on October 27. Earlier, the situation was normal. We were about to start our work when the Army came and informed us that we were not safe in the Valley following the killing of the labourers. We don't know what to do. We don't have a job," said Minarul Islam, a carpenter.
While five men from Murshidabad district were gunned down by terrorists in Kulgam district last month, a labourer who sustained bullet injuries in the attack is undergoing treatment at Srinagar Hospital.
The labourers informed that they spent sleepless nights as they were unable to talk to or meet their relatives in the Valley after the snapping of communication lines and scrapping of Article 370 of the Constitution recently. "To be frank, the hiccups started after the abrogation of Article 370. Following the death of five labourers in Kulgam district, we were shifted to the Army camp. The Army contacted the Bengal government. The government made proper arrangements to bring us back to our homeland. I would say that there is no job opportunity in Bengal. That is why we had to migrate to Kashmir in search of job," said Rakhal Burman, a plywood maker. According to the migrant workers, terrorists have been targeting truck drivers and labourers, mainly those who have come to the Valley from outside Kashmir.
"I went to Srinagar one year ago to work as a carpenter. I used to get Rs 12,000 per month. All of a sudden, we came to know that five people from Bengal had been gunned down. We were living in fear after the attack and praying to God to reach home safely," said Arif Hossain, a labourer.
Ensuring no lapse in security, nine state government officials contacted the Army in the Valley and made proper arrangements for the return journey of the stranded labourers.
"We reached Kashmir on Saturday and boarded Jammu Tawi Express along with the 138 labourers on the same day. The whole bogie carrying the labourers was locked from both outside and inside, so that no one could enter the train at different stations," said R Saha, a sub-inspector.
After reaching Kolkata railway station at 5.05 pm on Monday, the 138 labourers (133 from different districts of Bengal and five from Assam) were offered food packets by Mayor Firhad Hakim. At the station, there were five government buses waiting to take them home in various districts.
