A migrant labourer pulled his pregnant wife and two-year-old daughter on a wooden cart for 17 days to cover a distance of over 700km from Hyderabad to his home district in Madhya Pradesh’s Balaghat.

Ramu Ghormore, 32, was spotted on the Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh border on Thursday evening, following which arrangements were made to ferry them to their home at Lanjhi in Balaghat district, a police officer said.

Speaking about their ordeal, Ramu, his wife Dhanvantri Bai by his side, said: “We used to work as labourers in Hyderabad under a contractor. After the lockdown came into force, there was no work at the site. As our source of income had stopped, we were finding it difficult to arrange for even two meals a day.

“We sought help from some people and requested them to make arrangements for our travel to our native place. However, nothing happened for a long time. As there was no solution in sight, we decided to start our journey on foot till our village in Lanjhi with my daughter Anuragini in my arms.”

However, after some distance, Dhanvantri could not continue further. “I made a handcart with a bamboo and other locally procured materials, including wheels and a lever made of tube to pull it,” Ramu said.

When they reached Rajegaon on the Madhya Pradesh-Maharashtra border, the authorities stopped them to ask questions.

Bhargava said Ramu had told the police that he had walked over 700km for 17 days with his family on the cart.

“The man had made a handcart on which his wife and daughter were sitting. He pulled them all the way from Hyderabad,” the officer said.

At the border, the family was given food. “A private vehicle was arranged for them to send them back to their home in Kunde village, about 18km from the border,” Bhargava said.

A police officer said that besides the Ghormore family, nearly 400 other labourers had reached Rajegaon from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana on foot. “They were medically examined, provided food and pain-killers. They were later sent to their destinations,” he said.