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Happy to be homeward bound after being stranded in Colombo and its suburbs
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By Amila Gamage
The first batch from around 50,000 persons stranded in Colombo and its suburbs, for more than six weeks, were provided transport by the Police yesterday to leave to their villages. Initially a batch of 370 people were selected.
Gamage Premawathi
Sivanu Ashok
Those who left for their villages were seen gathered near the Peliyagoda police station. Their temperatures were checked before they boarded buses homeward bound.
As the government enforced an islandwide curfew to stop the spread of the Covid-19, 52,000 people working in Colombo and its suburbs were left stranded with no way of reaching their villages.
Most of them were in boarding houses. They were working in factories, construction sites and companies. Apart from them there were those who were temporarily staying in Colombo to seek medical treatment.
Police said they gave priority to families with small children and elderly people and those who were from Kalutara, Galle, Matara, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Matale, Polonnaruwa, Anuradhapura, Kurunegala, Kegalle and Ampara.
Senior Deputy Inspector General Desha Bandu Thennakoon said the returnees would be taken directly to their area police stations and from there taken to their homes.
He said area PHIs would subject them to a period of self-quarantine too.
Meanwhile many of them spoke of the difficulties they faced. Due to the curfew most of them were unable to go to work and had no source of income while some even lost their jobs. Some found it hard to survive as they were were not even paid their salaries as their work places were closed.
Sivanu Ashok ( 41) said he only had a decent meal after three days, He said he was boarded at Wattala as he was working at a mask factory.
“Since the curfew was imposed the mask production came to a halt therefore we were not provided with any payment,” he said.
Gamage Premawathi (71) who had come to Ja Ela seeking medication. She said she was able to find refuge at her relative’s house for one month. She said they all faced a shortage of food and they found it difficult to get by.
She was getting back to her home in Buttala and said if she had been at home she would have done some home gardening.
“I am very thankful to go back home, therefore I thank the police and government for their efforts,” she said.