Lockdown: Migrant workers clash with police in Gujarat
Surat: Hundreds of migrant workers seeking to return home clashed with police and pelted stones at them near a village in Gujarat's Surat district on Monday, following which the security personnel lobbed teargas shells and baton-charged the agitated workers, an official said.
Besides, several labourers also came out on a road in Rajkot demanding that they be sent back to their hometowns, while some migrant workers got their heads tonsured in an area of Surat after being unable to go back home.
Hundreds of migrant workers clashed with police near Vareli village on the outskirts of Surat while demanding that arrangements be made to send them back to their native places in the wake of the coronavirus-enforced lockdown, a police official said.
They threw stones at the police, following which the security personnel retaliated and lobbed teargas shells and lathi-charged the agitated workers, he said.
The labourers also damaged some vehicles parked on Surat-Kadodara road, he said. The situation was later brought under control and security was stepped up in the area, he added.
Besides, 50 migrant labourers got their heads tonsured in Surat's Pandesara locality on Monday after being unable to leave for their native places in Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand.
They claimed that two days back their buses were given permission to leave Gujarat. But, later they were stopped at Kosamba in Surat by local administration officials due to lack of "valid permission" and asked to go back.
The workers said they have been waiting endlessly for the administration to clear their journey back home.
One of them said the money they arranged for the bus fare after lot of hardships has not been returned to them, and demanded that governments of Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat co- ordinate their travel back home without delay.
"Many of us sold off our watches and mobile phones to arrange for the bus fare. Now we are still at the same place, with no permission given to our buses to move. We are stranded here with no help from officials. We demand the governments of the two states to coordinate fast for our return back home," he said.
In Rajkot, hundreds of migrant workers came out on road in Shapar-Veraval industrial area on the city outskirts, demanding that they be sent back home.
Police said they managed to persuade the workers to call off the protest, and brought the situation under control.
"We have proactively reached out to migrants in their residential localities and have explained to them that they will be allowed to leave in vehicles that they themselves arrange after getting a medical checkup done and completing other formalities," Rajkot Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone-1) Ravi Mohan Saini said.
"In some areas, we have received complaints regarding landlords demanding rent and factory owners not paying salary.
We will take action on such complaints. So far, the migrants have understood and are peaceful," he said.
Some migrant workers also gathered outside the Rajkot collector's office to fill forms for returning home, saying they had no food and money to sustain their livelihood.
One of the workers, a native of Badaun in Uttar Pradesh, said he filled the form as told by police.
"The factory where I worked is closed, and I want to go back to my native place. They say we will have to arrange our our own vehicles to return to our native place, but we want the government to send us back in train," he said.
Some of the workers said they have not got salaries from factories where they worked, while their landlords are still demanding house rent.
"Our company gave the salary initially but is not paying us any more. We have nothing to eat, we want the government to arrange for a train back to our native place from Rajkot," said another worker.
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Late flourish masks CSK’s batting woes on lively Chepauk track, hosts post 158/7
Chennai (PTI): Bowlers calling the shots in a format dominated by big hitters is a rarity, but that script played out at Chepauk on Sunday as Gujarat Titans exploited a lively, bounce-friendly surface to stifle Chennai Super Kings before the hosts managed a late flourish to reach 158 for 7.
On a pitch that offered sharp carry, stroke-making demanded discretion and adaptability. Instead, CSK’s batters often opted for high-risk shots without fully assessing conditions, and paid the price with a flurry of miscued dismissals.
Invited to bat, CSK never quite found rhythm but skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad’s maiden half-century (74 not out) of the current IPL season lent a semblance of respectability to the total in a season where 200-plus scores have become commonplace.
Gaikwad's knock came off 60 balls with six fours and four sixes after a laboured start.
The tone was set early by GT pacer Mohammed Siraj, who extracted steep bounce and forced errors.
Sanju Samson (11) began watchfully, negotiating the first over before opening up against Kagiso Rabada to bring up his 5000 IPL runs milestone. However, Rabada’s bounce soon accounted for him as a hard slash outside off resulted in a faint edge that Jos Buttler pouched safely.
The dismissal triggered a collapse. Urvil Patel (4) fell in the same Rabada over attempting an ambitious pull, while Sarfaraz Khan (0) succumbed to Siraj’s extra lift, mistiming a short ball to offer a simple catch.
At 28 for 3 inside the Powerplay, CSK were already in trouble.
Gaikwad and Dewald Brevis (2) needed to rebuild, but the latter’s impatience against spinner Manav Suthar led to his downfall, holing out after failing to get to the pitch of the ball.
The mounting wickets forced Gaikwad into a shell — an approach that, while understandable, further stalled the momentum. His reluctance to improvise allowed dot balls to pile up, with CSK reaching 50 only in the 12th over.
The skipper eventually broke free, taking on Arshad Khan and Jason Holder with a couple of towering sixes, but the acceleration came too late.
Shivam Dube, dropped thrice on 6, 11 and 22, struggled for fluency before Arshad cleaned him up.
Kartik Sharma (15) and Jamie Overton (18) provided late impetus with a few lusty hits, but the damage had already been done.
On a pitch that rewarded discipline and smart shot selection, Titans' bowlers executed their plans to perfection, while CSK’s batters failed to read the conditions in time, a lapse that ultimately defined the innings.
