Lucknow, May 16, 2020: At least 24 migrant laborers were killed and more than 30 wounded on May 16 when trucks that carried them collided in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
The accident occurred at around 3 am in Auraiya district, about 200 km from the state’s capital Lucknow.
This is the latest incident involving stranded migrant workers trying to return to their homes, triggering an outpour of condolences nationwide.
The nationwide lockdown that completed 53 days on May 16 has rendered hundreds of thousands of migrant laborers jobless in India, forcing them to return to their home states through any means.
In the latest incident, separate groups of migrants had hitched rides on two trucks from Rajasthan and Delhi; they were headed to Bihar, Jharkhand, UP and West Bengal, according to the officials.
One of the trucks was loaded with goods and laborers were sitting on the sacks when they were thrown off the vehicle due to the impact of the collision.
Senior police officer Jai Narayan Singh said some people had got down from one truck that stopped at a wayside restaurant to have tea. “That was when the collision happened and laborers who were sitting on the sacks were thrown off. We are still trying figure out why so many people were packed in those vehicles coming from Delhi and Rajasthan. Those injured have been admitted to hospitals,” he added.
Distressing visuals of chaos from the accident site show injured laborers getting help from locals and policemen after the accident. A large number of policemen can be seen carrying out rescue operations.
In a tweet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the incident is “extremely tragic.” “The road accident in Uttar Pradesh’s Auraiya is extremely tragic. The government is involved in the relief work. I express my condolences to the families of those killed in this accident, as well as wish the injured a speedy recovery,” Modi tweeted in Hindi this morning.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath tweeted in Hindi that the death of migrant workers in a road accident is unfortunate and sad. “Instructions have been given to ensure relief and medical treatment for those injured. A probe has also been ordered,” he said in his condolence messages to the victims’ families.
The administration has announced a compensation of 200,000 rupees for the families of the deceased and 50,000 rupees for those injured.
The administration has suspended two police officers and seized both the trucks. Cases have been filed against the truck drivers.
The state has also decided to deploy 200 buses in each of the border districts to help migrants reach their homes.
Another road accident was reported from Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district at around 10 am that killed six laborers, including three women. The truck they were travelling in overturned. The group began their journey from Maharashtra and they were going to UP.
Specials buses and trains are being organized by the central government and states for those stranded due to the nationwide shutdown yet many are still undertaking arduous journeys of hundreds of kilometers on foot with their families.
On May 15, Adityanath had appealed to the migrants to avoid travelling on their own. “I appeal to all the migrant workers to not walk or travel on their own. Inform our nodal officers, they will help and provide you transport for free. All officials have been directed to take migrant workers entering the state to quarantine centers and be provided comfort,” he said.
At least 31 migrants have died in the last 24 hours in separate incidents. On May 14, six migrant workers were run over by an Uttar Pradesh government bus on a highway in the state’s Muzaffarnagar district. Two workers were injured. They had been walking to their hometowns in Bihar from Punjab. The police said the bus was empty and the driver has been arrested.
A week ago, 16 migrant workers in a group of 20 were killed after a cargo train ran over them while they were sleeping on the tracks in Maharashtra’s Aurangabad.
The Supreme Court on May 15 dismissed a petition that asked that the federal be ordered to provide food and water to migrants on the move. “It is impossible for this court to monitor who is walking and not walking,” the top court said.
“Let the state decide. Why should the court hear or decide?” the court said during the hearing.
Source: ndtv.com