Angul: One of the inmates of a quarantine centre in this town is different from others, for he has cycled 443 kilometres to eke out a living here.
Meet Sambhunath Bhuyan, a man from West Bengal’s Midnapore district. Sambhu stitches and sells bags in this town and is a known face. Prior to the imposition of lockdown to curb the spread of the pandemic coronavirus, Sambhu had gone to his native village. However, he was forced to stay back due to the lockdown and exhausted whatever meagre savings he had.
Once lockdown restrictions were eased, Sambhu decided to return here. He arranged for a bicycle and decided to traverse the 443-km long journey.
“It was becoming increasingly difficult to run the family without income. I had to choose one from two options – life and livelihood. I chose the second,” informed Sambhu.
“It took me three days to reach here. I usually had tea and biscuits all through the journey. The fear of encountering wild animals would always haunt me. So I used to pedal as long as I could. I am hopeful that after completion of my seven-day quarantine period I will be able to make a living once again,” he added.
Because of Sambhu’s travel history to West Bengal, the Angul municipality did not want to take a chance. So officials asked him to go through the seven-day institutional quarantine at a facility here.
Sambhu said he has always been stitching and selling bags in this town. “I am very familiar with the people here and this town. So I decided to come back here only. In my native district, it would have been very difficult for me to earn money,” informed Sambhu.
