Mangaluru lockdown: Students, workers crowd bus stand, railway station

“I was staying in a hostel in Kulashekar and was pursuing my studies in a school. After the government announced the lockdown, my parents reached Mangaluru to take me back to my village fearing that the lockdown will continue even after 14 days,” said Sangeetha from Vijayapura, who is a Class 10 student.

This is not the story of Sangeetha alone. Many students, who were staying in hostels in Mangaluru, are returning to their native villages in buses and trains. Ramisha, a nursing college student from Chikkamagaluru, had arrived in Mangaluru via bus and left for her native place in Kannur, Kerala via train. She said, “Holiday had been declared for colleges. So it is better to return to my house and stay safe rather than stay in the hostel.”

Many medical students hailing from Kerala and studying in Shivamogga had arrived in Mangaluru in rented vehicles in order to board trains to their native villages. Though construction workers were permitted to work during the lockdown, they are in no mood to listen. Even on Tuesday, the KSRTC bus stand in Bejai was packed with labourers and their families, who were mentally prepared for the homeward journey.

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Velamma and Saraswathi, working at a construction site in Deralakatte, said, “We do not want to face any hardships that we had experienced during the previous lockdown. We are eager to return to our villages. When everything is back to normal, we will return to Mangaluru.”

The women said, “When the lockdown was announced a year ago, we had to struggle to find food and had to walk for many kilometres in order to catch a vehicle and reach our villages.”

“As a precautionary step, we have booked tickets this time,” said Velamma and Saraswathi, who have been working in Mangaluru for the past 17 years.

“My husband is a mason and we do not want to face any inconveniences during the lockdown,” said Gauramma, who was returning with her husband and three children to her village in Gadag. Construction workers from Kushtagi, Koppal and other districts also left the city to their respective villages.

KSRTC Mangaluru Divisional Controller Arun S said, “Additional buses were being operated depending on the number of passengers to various destinations.”

MLA arranges special buses

Belthangady MLA Harish Poonja arranged transport facilities to help natives of Beltangady taluk, stranded in Bengaluru, reach their villages. The MLA besides going public about the facility in social media had shared the contact numbers of coordinators on social media. The transport arrangements were made on Monday and Tuesday, sources added