Lockdown Exodus: 4 Migrant Labourers Mowed Down In Maharashtra

Four migrant labourers were killed when seven of them were knocked down by a vehicle on a highway near Virar in Maharashtra. Three others were admitted to a nearby hospital and while two suffered injuries, one of them has been declared brain dead. The seven labourers were walking from Mumbai to their hometown in Gujarat when they were knocked down by an Eicher Tempo Traveller vehicle near Virar.

The plight of migrant workers has been highlighted by electronic and social media over the last few days. After the lockdown was announced on Tuesday night by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, migrant workers from several states stranded in other parts of the country began to track home as there was no other mode of transport.

Heart-rending accounts in visuals of thousands of migrant workers stranded on the Delhi-Noida-Ghaziabad border and long lines of labourers trudging home to distant towns and villages presented a poignant scene. Similar scenes were reported from several other states.

The Uttar Pradesh government announced the setting up of a helpline for migrant workers and other stranded people. The Yogi Adityanath government also announced that it was deploying 1000 buses to transport stranded migrant workers from the state to their hometowns.

Odisha chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced Rs.2200 crore package and wrote to chief ministers of various states requesting them to take care of migrant workers from his state. Delhi chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal told the media on Friday that 400,000 people be provided lunch and dinner in 325 government schools in the national capital. He assured chief ministers of all states that migrant labourers living in Delhi would be taken care of.