A group of villagers in South 24-Parganas who have been rendered homeless by Amphan have vacated a cyclone shelter to allow a group of migrants to quarantine themselves.

The villagers of Kuemuri in Heramba Gopalpur have moved to the houses of neighbours or to tents on high ground and left the cyclone centre to the 10 migrant workers and their families who returned last week.

“The migrants returned two days after the cyclone, which has left us homeless. It was a dual challenge for us. Finally, we decided to keep them at the centre,” said Alokesh Purkait, a villager.

The example of Kuemuri, a remote village in Patharpratima block, reflects the two-pronged challenge faced by villagers and the local administrations in the Amphan-hit areas after thousands of migrant labourers started returning home from other states since Thursday.

Around 400 Kuemuri villagers had been shifted to the centre located at Heramba Gopalpur Sanatan Milan Vidyapith on May 20 before the cyclone struck. But they could stay there for only two days as the migrants arrived.

Dibakar Mal, who returned from Haryana with his family, said: “Our house has been demolished by the cyclone. I have two children. We had no place to be in home quarantine. Finally the villagers allowed us to stay here.”