Sonipat, Haryana: “We can tell when someone has died from hunger and thirst. Their mouth remains open, eyes are blank and the stomach deflated,” stated Amit Kumar, owner of Jai Hind Dhaba in Murthal, Haryana, speaking about the migrant labourers who were found dead along the highway.  

Murthal is known for its dhabas (a restaurant or eatery) and the lockdown presented several challenges for these businesses and their workers. In the first stage of lockdown, several dhabas in the region were forced to close their operations. Several employees, mostly migrants from other states, of the establishments along National Highway 1 state that the absence of customers during the lockdown has affected them heavily. 

Sumit Kumar, a trade union activist who works with the Migrant Workers Solidarity Network, stated that the pandemic affected the migrant workers and put them in a very vulnerable situation. 

In states like Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, where the labour laws are lax, migrants workers often end up getting exploited, he commented. While many people working as waiters, busboys and cleaners in the dhabas in the area were forced to go home when the lockdown was announced, they had to come back as they couldn’t stay at home without pay.

Birender, who only wanted to reveal his first name, works as a waiter in Pahalwan Dhaba. Hailing from Alipore district of West Bengal, Birender went home in May, but came back soon after. 

At first, he had decided to get a job in Delhi, but looking at the rising COVID-19 cases in the National Capital and the high cost of living, he returned to Murthal, he added.

Raju, who only revealed his first name, is from Arrah, Bihar. He works at the HR10 Dhaba by the highway. He stated that he hasn’t seen his family for over a year and though he misses his family, he can’t afford to give up his job.

As the numbers of COVID-19 cases continue to rise, he mentioned that he has heard rumours of a second lockdown being implemented. “It took the business almost eight months to stabilise after the first lockdown, a second lockdown will crush us all over again,” Raju commented.

Compelled to stay

Many people who had come to Murthal to earn a living couldn’t go home during the lockdown. They had to borrow money from family members or friends to make ends meet, while some had also taken loans from moneylenders.

Dharmendra Nath, who came from Jaipur, Rajasthan, to Murthal, found a job offering camel and horse rides in front of Golden Hut, a popular dhaba. When the first COVID-19 lockdown was announced, his savings started to run out.