The Virar family walked from Taloja

MUMBAI: Many tried to trek home during the lockdown even if it meant covering hundreds of miles. Most failed, but a Virar woman and her two minor sons made it after walking along railway lines and roads for over 25 days.

Aarti Ghod was in Taloja in Raigad district to fetch her sons Pranay (14) and Shivam (8) from their hostel on March 21 when the lockdown was announced. She missed the train back home, so she and her sons walked along deserted roads and tracks from March 22 to April 13, to reach Goregaon.

Along the way, she begged for food and money to feed herself and the children. With no cellphone, she was unable to contact her husband, Ashok, a daily wage labourer, who had no clue where they were. On reaching Goregaon on April 13, she called Ashok after requesting a passer-by to dial the number. Ashok walked along the tracks from Virar to reach Goregaon early on April 14. “By 6am we set out again along the tracks and reached Vasai by evening. But we were caught by railway police there,” said Ashok.

The family was handed over to Manickpur police in Vasai (W). Police were told about how the mother and sons had walked over 85km and Ashok had covered around 48km, and that they were 14km away from their Virar home.

Police, with help from the NGO Samadhan Foundation, gave them a month’s foodgrains and sent them home in an auto. Police said as the family was not far from where they lived, they sent them home, rather than to a camp.

Aarti said their legs had swollen and their slippers gave way during the walk.

