Over 70 Migrants Have Been Killed In A Week Trying To Reach Their Homes, Exposing Govt Failure

The country woke up to yet another tragic accident in which several migrant workers lost their lives. Over the past couple of weeks, road accidents involving migrants have become almost a daily affair, exposing the glaring loopholes of a failed system, the one which is unable to protect its citizens.

At least 24 migrant workers were killed in an accident which took place between 2 am and 3 am on Saturday. A trolley truck, which was coming from Rajasthan, was loaded with white putti. It also had people who were headed to Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal. The truck was stationed at Mihauli at a dhaba where people were getting tea. A DCM truck which was coming from Delhi which had around 20 migrant workers.

Heartbreaking footage from the accident spot in UP¡¯s #Auraiya

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to SC: There are no Migrant Workers on the road.

Today: 24 migrant workers were killed & 37 injured in an accident that took place in UP's Auraiya district.

Yes, they are no more! pic.twitter.com/DN7DSdO3n6

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The DCM truck hit the trolley after the driver possibly fell asleep on the wheel. Both the vehicles overturned resulting in multiple deaths.

In yet another accident reported today, five migrant workers were killed in a road accident near Banda in Madhya Pradesh, after the truck they were travelling in overturned.

5 migrant workers killed in a road accident near Banda (Sagar district) today, after the truck they were traveling in, overturned. They were going from Maharashtra to Uttar Pradesh: ASP Praveen Bhuria #MadhyaPradesh

¡ª ANI (@ANI) May 16, 2020

They were travelling from Maharashtra to Uttar Pradesh.

So far, more than a hundred migrant workers have lost their lives in accidents after they were forced to walk, hitchhike or cycle home, covering a distance of thousands of kilometres due to the lockdown and lack of proper transport arrangements by the Centre and state governments. In almost all places, India's most vulnerbale people are bearing the brunt of severe apathy.

Six migrant workers killed in UP

On the intervening night of May 13 and 14, six migrant workers were killed and five were seriously injured when a speeding State transport bus ran over them on the Delhi-Saharanpur highway near Muzaffarnagar. These workers were walking from Punjab to their homes in different districts of Bihar.

According to police, four of the deceased were from Gopalganj and the other two were from Patna and Bhojpur. ¡°The bus was empty and the driver was under the influence of alcohol. He has been arrested,¡± said Abhishek Yadav, SSP, Muzaffarnagar.

14 migrants killed in two road accidents

In the wee hours of May 14, 14 migrant workers were killed in two separate road accidents in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

Eight labourers died and over 54 suffered injuries after the truck they were travelling in was hit by a speeding bus in Madhya Pradesh's Guna. Around 55-60 labourers also suffered injuries in the incident. Most of the labourers are from Unnao district in Uttar Pradesh.

In a separate tragic accident which happened a few hours before the accident in Madhya Pradesh, six migrant workers were run over by a state government bus on a highway in the Muzaffarnagar district.

The workers had been walking to their hometown in Bihar from Punjab amid the coronavirus lockdown.

Migrant worker walks to station, collapses and dies

A 45-year-old migrant worker from Rajasthan, walked 30 kms from his residence to catch a Shramik Special train, collapsed and died near the Vasai Road railway station in Maharashtra.

The incident took place on Thursday evening and the deceased was identified as Harish Chander Shankarlal, a resident of Bhayander in adjoining Thane district.

Shankarlal, a carpenter by profession, was working at a construction site and was without a job due to the lockdown.

Migrants cross Yamuna

In yet another stirring incident reported on Friday, migrants, desperate to reach their homes, were seen crossing river Yamuna along Uttar Pradesh-Haryana border on some stretches, and reached UP Shamli district.

The workers, who were stranded in Haryana due to the ongoing Covid-19 lockdown, crossed the river and reached Kairana town in Shamli during Thursday night, police said. They have now been sent to a shelter home.

The workers decided to cross the river as many inter-state borders have been sealed and movement without permission from authorities is not allowed.

16 migrants crushed by train

On May 8, at least 16 migrant workers, who fell asleep on railway tracks while walking home, were crushed to death by a goods train in Aurangabad, Maharashtra.

The migrants were walking from Jalna to Bhusaval, 157 km apart.

The Railways Ministry tweeted that after seeing some people on the track, the driver of the cargo train tried to stop but couldn't do so in time.