Govt Finally Admits To Migrant Deaths, Says 97 People Have Died On Board Shramik Trains

The Narendra Modi-led government which had come under heavy criticism for telling Parliament that it did not have the data on the number of migrant workers who died during the lockdown has now told the Rajya Sabha that 97 people died on board the Shramik Special trains.

PTI

On Friday, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal provided the statistics to the upper house of parliament about the deaths on board the special trains.

"Based on the data provided by State Police, 97 persons have been reported dead till 09.09.2020 while travelling on board Shramik Special Trains during current Covid-19 situation/crisis," the minister said.

BCCL/Representational Image

"The state police registers case under Section 174 of Cr.PC in cases of unnatural deaths and follows further legal process," the minister said.

97 deaths caused

Out of the 97 cases of death, the state police sent dead bodies for post mortem in 87 cases, the minister said.

A total of 51 post mortem reports have been obtained from respective state police forces so far, in which the reasons for deaths have been shown as cardiac arrest/heart disease/brain hemorrhage/pre-existing chronic disease/chronic lung disease/chronic liver disease etc, the minister said.

AFP

Shramik Special trains began operation on May 1 to ferry migrant labourers back to their home states during the lockdown period.

In all, 4,621 Shramik Special trains were operated between May 1 and August 31, carrying 6,319,000 passengers to their home states, the ministry said.

¡°Policing on Railways being a state subject, prevention of crime, registration of cases, their investigation and maintenance of law & order in Railway premises as well as on running trains are the statutory responsibility of the state governments, which they discharge through Government Railway Police (GRP)/District Police," Goyal said.

BCCL

"Railway Protection Force (RPF) supplements the efforts of GRP/District Police to provide better protection and security of passenger area & passengers and for related matters," Goyal said.

Until June, a total of 37 babies were also born on board the special trains

The statement of the minister comes after the government came under criticism when the labour ministry earlier this week informed parliament that no data is available on the number of migrant workers who lost their lives during the 68-day lockdown enforced on March 25 to curb the spread of the COVID-19.

Reuters - Representational Image

On September 14, the Union Labour Ministry said there is no data on migrant deaths so the "question does not arise" of compensation.

The ministry was replying to a question on whether families of those who had lost their lives while trying to reach home in the coronavirus lockdown had been compensated.