As Many Are Killed In Road Mishaps, Experts Feel Separate Vehicle-Lane Will Keep Migrants Safe
Road safety experts have demanded keeping one lane free from vehicles amid increasing reports of buses and trucks mowing down migrant workers who are walking to their homes.
Over the past couple of weeks, incidents of migrant workers being killed on road accidents have surged, questioning the safety and arrangements for them during the ongoing country-wide lockdown. In the wake of such accidents and migrants losing their lives, experts are demanding to have a separate vehicle-free lane, where migrant workers can walk home.
According to a report by The Times of India, "road safety experts have demanded keeping one lane free from vehicles amid increasing reports of buses and trucks mowing down migrant workers who are walking to their homes."
On late Wednesday night, two separate tragic accidents killed 14 migrants who were walking home. At least 8 migrant workers were killed and around 50 others were injured after a truck carrying them collided with a bus. The incident happened in Madhya Pradesh¡¯s Guna late on Wednesday night.
In a separate incident, six people were killed and two injured after allegedly being run over by a state transport bus while they were walking towards Muzaffarnagar late on Wednesday night.
BCCL
¡°Migrants getting mowed down by state buses, 14 died in two tragedies. Such incidents are on the rise. Request: pls issue directions to keep 1 lane ¡®vehicle free¡¯ ASAP,¡± tweeted Harman Singh Sidhu of ArriveSAFE tagging Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari.
Sidhu had earlier moved the Supreme Court against liquor shop along National Highways. He told TOI , "since people are walking on the main road and there is less traffic due to lockdown, earmarking one lane as ¡®vehicle free¡¯ is feasible."
BCCL
Piyush Tewari of SaveLife Foundation tweeted that according to their estimate, 308 people had died between March 24 and May 14 (Thursday) and 104 of them were migrants heading home.
The exact number of fatalities cannot be ascertained as of now. The number can only be known once each state provides accurate data to transport ministry. The road accidents have clearly stumped the country.
