DEHRADUN
: When seven migrant
workers
, helpers at a hotel in Chandigarh, returned to their native village in Rudraprayag district of Garhwal last week, they were whisked away to a government school-turned quarantine centre in Gafed village. Unable to be with their families and refusing to sit idle, the group of seven men decided to revamp the school building and the adjoining playground.
Gafed village is home to around 80 families. Even as the villagers strictly followed social distancing norms, the villagers made the migrant workers feel welcome during their stay at the quarantine centre. One of the workers,
Anil Singh, told TOI, “The villagers were very cooperative and offered us all the help we needed during the quarantine. All of us decided that the best utilization of our time would be to clean up the school and whitewash the walls.”
Village head Leela Singh Bisht told TOI, “When the seven men volunteered to clean and whitewash the school building, we provided them with all the materials required.”
The school, a government inter college, has over 100 students. “We have already cleaned the playground. By the weekend, all the walls and floors will be squeaky clean. It will be pleasant surprise for the students when they return,” said
Pankaj Singh, another migrant worker.
Pankaj added that instead of having their families bring them meals, they were preparing their food in the school campus itself. “We don’t want to burden our families and have them run around all day. We work in a hotel and know how to cook. We just ask for ration to be delivered here,” Singh explained.
Gafed village is expecting more migrant workers from other cities. “We are going to need more gloves, masks and hand sanitizers for the migrant workers who are expected come home by next week. There are hundreds of people from this region who work in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore,” said Bisht.
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