Ranchi: As the
Chhath Puja coincides with the Bihar assembly election, thousands of migrant workers employed in different parts of the country are heading back home with renewed hopes for a political change as well as in their fortunes. Most workers said they are on a month-long vacation.
On Thursday, a group of around 10 construction workers and labourers returning from
Tamil Nadu were seen halting at Ranchi railway station while on their journey to Bihar.
Unable to find seats in direct trains from Tamil Nadu to Patna, they made the journey first to Ranchi, then to Patna, to be in time to celebrate the revered Chhath festival with their families.
According to the workers, this year’s return journey holds special significance for them, as it is a chance not only to celebrate Chhath but also to take part in the festival of democracy in the form of the Bihar assembly election.
They said electing a govt that can ensure a better future for them, providing livelihood opportunities in their home state itself, would be on top of their priorities when they cast their votes. “We come home for Chhath every year, but this time, it feels different because we will also cast our votes. This time we will vote for a change, to form a govt which can guarantee employment opportunities in Bihar for people like us so that we don’t have to travel thousands of kilometres to earn a living,” said Pinku Kumar, a mason returning from Chennai.
The workers also expressed frustration over the lack of job opportunities in their home state, which forces them to take up low-paying and unstable work in distant cities.“There are at least five lakhs of people from Bihar who are currently working in Tamil Nadu in various sectors. If there were enough jobs in Bihar, we would never leave our families behind and could contribute to the development of our state. My family lives in Muzaffarpur, while for the last 10 years, I have been staying in Tamil Nadu, which made it difficult for me to properly look after my family and my ageing parents,” said another worker, Bittu Kumar.
They also voiced their concerns about the alcohol ban currently imposed in Bihar, saying that the ban has led to smuggling of liquor from other states.
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