Chennai sees second round of mass exodus after COVID cases skyrocket

As COVID-19 positive cases rise, Chennai witnesses another mass exodus of people due to corona scare and lack of opportunity for survival in the city.

After the first mass exodus of migrant workers from Tamil Nadu, the second wave of migration has been happening in Chennai since early June. This time, people from other parts of the State are leaving Chennai.

One such person, K. Kamaraj, a native of Theni in Tamil Nadu, settled in Chennai for eight years, on Sunday, took his wife and two-year-old child on his motorbike to reach his native place.

“I know it will be back-breaking to ride 500 kilometers on bike. But, I do not have any other option. If I have to take a car, I have to spend at least ₹20,000. Had I been able to spend ₹20,000, I would have stayed back at my house, paying the rent. Since I could not afford to live in Chennai during this crisis, I am leaving the place,” said Kamaraj.

When asked why he preferred a bike to travel such a long distance, Kamaraj said the public transports aren’t available and he was confident that police would not stop him as he has a two-year-old child and he can always claim to be from around the area and not from Chennai.

“Even though it’s been close to 10 years since I settled in Chennai, my voter identification card still has my native address. So, wherever I am stopped, I say I am from a nearby place from the area wherever I am stopped,” he said.

Kamaraj who works in an automobile manufacturing company also said that he went through several rounds of the pay cut after which he decided to move to the native village to better sustain his family.

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“They offered me to take a pay cut or go on unpaid leave until the lockdown. I thought I would take the pay cut and retain my job. But, only after taking the pay cut, I realised that apart from the house rent, the prices of essential commodities have raised multi-folds,” he said.

On June 1, as soon as he got the salary, he settled all his EMIs and house rent after which only a meager amount of money remained for other expenses.

“On June 10, we were left with only ₹2,000 and that’s when we decided to move to our native place. We have a house there and we will be able to eat whatever we harvest from the farmland,” said Meenakshi, Kamaraj ‘s wife.

Besides Kamaraj, hundreds of other people have been moving out of Chennai on their bikes.

While Kamaraj had survival issues, few people The Federal spoke to said they were also scared of contacting COVID-19.

Kasinathan, a Central Government employee, who owns five three-storied buildings in Chennai, said that he can earn whenever he wants but cannot risk his life in this crisis by staying in the city.

“Since I am part of the essential services, I am forced to work. I didn’t get proper permission to leave the city but have just told them that I am taking sick leave for four days. I will be leaving now to my native place Sivagangai and will not come back at least for three months until this COVID-19 crisis settles,” said Kasi.

Adding that he worries about the life of his children he said, “Lives of my two children are more important and that’s why I am leaving. At the worst, they would cut my salary and I am least bothered about money right now. Only if I am alive, I can earn and live with the money.”

The city has police has taken cognisance of the matter and started taking actions to control the movement of the people, especially those on their private two-wheelers.

Chengalpattu police have set up a check post near Paranur toll gate, the first toll gate to reach from Chennai to southern districts and western districts, and have started checking the vehicles day and night.

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“Only those vehicles that have proper e-pass alone are allowed and the rest of them are sent back. Since Friday (June 12), at least 500 people who came on bikes have been sent back,” said a senior police officer in the Chengalpattu district.

Meanwhile, according to sources, as many as 37,000 people have applied for e-passes to travel to their native places citing various reasons. Of which, the state government is believed to have approved close to 11,000, while the rest are under process.