First train to N-E from Ggm rly station departed on Friday

Gurugram: Prolonged lockdown resulting in closure of business units and increase in the number of harassment cases increased the challenges for North-East residents in Gurugram. The first train to North-East from Gurugram railway station departed on Friday. The special train will travel from Gurugram to Dimapur in Nagaland via Guwahati. More special trains are also scheduled for May 23 and May 25.

The Haryana government plans to send back more than 4500 North-East residents who reside in Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Tripura and Assam.

People from the North-East have become targets for racial discrimination and slurs, with several such incidents coming to light during the pandemic. On May 10, a 20-year-old girl from Manipur identified as Chong Hoi Misao was beaten with rods by some local residents in Faizapur until she fell unconscious.

Yachanglokpa, a Manipuri resident who has been in Gurugram for 10 years and runs a small retail unit in Gurugram highlighted that from March 20 onwards local people stopped buying stuff from his shop. A father of a six-year-old daughter, Yachanglokpa is not leaving Gurugram as he fear that his shop will be taken over by the local people.

"We understand the local population does have a hostile attitude towards us. However, with our source of earnings now being affected I have no choice but to leave the city. I may think of returning as the economic opportunities in my village is very limited but as of now my main concern is to just leave," said Yaikubi, who was working in one of the five star hotels in Gurugram.