Twenty-eight-year-old Suraj Sheikh from Samserganj in Murshidabad used to earn around ₹30,000 a month as a mason in Sambalpur, Odisha.
Suraj, who is back home, earns only ₹500 a day nowadays. “And, there is no guarantee that I will get a job every day. While staying in Odisha, I used to send ₹20,000 to ₹23,000 to my family every month. But suddenly, the situation has changed,” said the youth.
Hundreds of migrant workers returned to Bengal during the past one-and-a-half months, especially after the communal violence rocked Samserganj in Murshidabad.
“The violence in my home district led to repercussions, and a section of local people attacked us. I was assaulted and I almost ran for around 12km at night to reach a highway, took a bus and reached Bengal,” said Suraj.
Mainul Sheikh, a 42-year-old man from Hariharpara of Murshidabad, who was a wholesale trader of saris in Ganjam district of Odisha, also locked up his accommodation and returned home.
He used to buy saris from Cuttack and engaged youths from Murshidabad to sell the same door-to-door.
“I was fortunate to escape assault, but my salesmen were beaten up. They were attacked after the Pahalgam incident. They hurriedly left Ganjam after the attack, and I also followed them. I have no idea whether I would be able to return to Odisha,” said Mainul, who used to make ₹35,000 to ₹40,000 a month.
Mainul is planning to take a room on rent at Burwan in Murshidabad district, where she would stock some garments and then go out and sell those door to door. “I have to earn at least ₹10,000 a month to run the family,” he said.
Rakibul Molla, another mason from Nowda, has returned from Indore of Madhya Pradesh. There, he used to earn around ₹30,000 a month, but now, he is making ₹300 a day, working as a day wage worker on agricultural fields near his home.
“I am in deep crisis but have no idea whether I would muster the courage to go to some other state for work,” he said.
Many migrant workers from Malda are also suffering.
Last month, a team of 40 construction workers returned to Malda from Sambalpur in Odisha following threats and attacks by a section of the local residents. On Thursday, 22 others, who used to work as hawkers in Jaipur of Rajasthan, started for Malda.
Like the earlier lot, the hawkers have also alleged harassment and threats by a section of locals and even some police men.
Rabiul Islam, who is from Bahor village of Harishchandrapur-I block, who spoke to The Telegraph over phone, said more than a thousand hawkers like him used to sell steel utensils in different areas of Jaipur.
“But after the Pahalgam tragedy, the situation changed. The locals intentionally lodged false complaints against us, merely suspecting we are not Indians but Bangladeshis. Police also harassed us by detaining us for an indefinite period, asking one after another questions,” he said.
“Sensing that we might face more severity, some of us boarded a train to return home,” he added.
Mahasin Ali, another migrant worker who is also returning from Rajasthan, said that he would make around Rs. 1,000 in Jaipur.
“But we feel insecure and cannot continue to stay to make higher earnings. It would be better to stay at home,” he said.
While many have returned or are returning home, a few have still preferred to stay back in their workplaces with the anticipation that the situation will improve.
Mobarak Mondal from Choto Garalgara of Dinhata 2 block in Cooch Behar stays in Vasant Kunj of Delhi. He deals in plastic scrap.
“On May 3, a team of Delhi police intercepted eight Bengalis, including me, and took us to a police station. They suspected that we were Bangladeshis. We were released after we showed our Aadhaar cards,” Mondal said over the phone.
“A section of people and police always suspect us to be Bangladeshis, particularly as we speak Bengali. Some people have left for Bengal, but I am still staying in Delhi, with the hope that the situation will change,” he said.
On Thursday, the Nasya Sheikh Unnayan Parishad, an organisation that represents Rajbanshi Muslims, submitted a memorandum to the district magistrate’s office in Cooch Behar, seeking the state’s intervention.
“Migrant workers from Bengal are being attacked in some states. They are being harassed with the suspicion that they are Bangladeshis. This has to stop and the Bengal government should take it up with the states concerned and the Centre,” said Aminal Haque, secretary of the Parishad.
Additional reporting by Main Uddin Chisti in Cooch Behar