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KOLKATA: Hundreds of migrant labourers running out of money have begun a homeward journey on foot in West Bengal, taking their existential dilemma beyond life and livelihood. Above all is their desperation to reach home even if it means breaking lockdown rules.The migration on foot has prompted the administration to set up police outposts at several points in towns and highways to prevent the trend picking up after a massive gathering of migrant workers at Bandra railway station in Mumbai on Tuesday in their desperate bid to catch a train.The movement of migrant labourers in Bengal throws up a mixed profile, both inter-state and intra-state. While some are from neighbouring states —Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, some others are from different districts in West Bengal.Stranded in Nadia, as many as 15,500 brick-field workers from Bihar and Jharkhand are on edge, said Nadia zilla sabhadhipati Rikta Kundu. “We are giving them food and shelter. We can’t allow them to move out. The district is under strict surveillance,” Kundu said.Another group of 49 road labourers from Bihar has already approached the panchayat at Ranaghat’s Anulia to allow them to go back home. These workers have been spending days together without food after their contractor laid them off. “We don’t want anything more. We want to go home,” said Kali Mahato, a migrant labourer from Giridih. CPM’s Nadia functionary S M Sadi said: “We provided them food but they are not in a mood to stay back.”Many of the 3,700 labourers from South 24 Parganas, working in cold storage facilities in north Bengal, have started on foot for their homes at Raidighi, Patharpratima and other villages in the Sunderbans. Falakata police tried to prevent them from proceeding but the workers refused to return to their workplace.“We are taking care of the labourers. But I don’t know how long we will be able to hold them back. They have become desperate,” said Manoj Saha, secretary of West Bengal Cold Storage Association, north Bengal chapter. Police have also intercepted a truck from Assam carrying 40 labourers. All these labourers were pushed back to Assam after doing a health check-up.A group of 11 migrant workers from Tatanagar reached Midnapore on Wednesday on their way back home in Malda and Murshidabad. They are walking all the way. Midnapore police stopped them soon after they crossed the Kansabati bridge near Dharma and took all to Kharagpur. The same day, some workers from Howrah’s Amta entered Hooghly’s Pursuara on their way home in Birhum’s Murarai. Champadanga police provided them food and advised them to walk towards Burdwan.BJP ward convenor from Asansol Amitava Banerjee has appealed to the Bengal governor to help a group of 33 people stranded at Amrita Lodge, Durgapur, near Mission Hospital. These people had come for treatment and have nine children with them. Asansol SP has arranged cooking gas and other items for them. “We have provided them 25kg rice, 50kg atta, fruits and vegetables,” Banerjee said. Yet, these people are growing restive.On the other hand, Bengal tourists stranded in Vrindavan and patients locked down in Chennai have been sending SOS to the Bengal government to bring them back. “We have got in touch with them and also with migrant labourers stranded in other states. We will be sending some pocket money to them. I would urge them to bear with the lockdown,” chief minister Mamata Banerjee said.(With inputs from Ashis Poddar, Pinak Priya Bhattacharya, Sujoy Khanra, Falguni Banerjee and Md Asif)