Mahoba, Uttar Pradesh, May 19:
Five migrant workers, including three women, were killed in Uttar Pradesh in two separate accidents on highways on Monday, officials have said. At least 50 migrants – left stranded without jobs due to coronavirus lockdown – have died in the last 10 days while trying to return to their homes.
Three migrant women workers were killed and at least 12 were injured when their truck overturned after a tyre burst on the Jhansi-Mirzapur highway in Uttar Pradesh last night. The group of 17 had started walking from Delhi to return to their villages in eastern UP and the truck driver had agreed to give them a ride, said officials. “The truck overturned after a tyre burst. Those injured have been taken to a hospital and four of them are critical. The group started their journey from Delhi,” said a senior police officer.
In Unnao, about 65 km from Lucknow, two migrants were killed and 23 were injured yesterday evening when they were headed to Azamgarh from Delhi in a truck. The accident was reported on Agra-Lucknow Expressway.
On Saturday, 26 labourers were killed, more than 30 were injured when two trucks collided in Auraiya district, about 180 km from state capital Lucknow. The road accident, which led to an outpouring of condolences nationwide, prompted the Yogi Adityanath government to seal the state’s borders.
The Chief Minister had ordered the district officials to stop migrants and their families from entering the state on foot, cycles or trucks, arrange food and shelter for them and provide buses for their journey.
Next morning, hundreds of migrants were stopped at the border districts in UP by police amid protests.
Heartbreaking visuals have been capturing the misery of labourers and their families ever since countrywide shutdown left them jobless away from their homes. Many of them also died as they tried covering hundreds of kilometres on foot.
