Lucknow: 60-year-old migrant dies of hunger

Lucknow: A 60-year-old migrant worker died in Uttar Pradesh reportedly of starvation on Sunday morning, three days after he began his journey to home with some of his family members from Maharashtra. The last meal he took was before he started traveling on Friday, according to his relatives.

On Friday, the Supreme Court dismissed a petition that asked that the centre be ordered to provide food and water to migrants on the move Vikram had hitched a ride on a truck with some of his family members from Maharashtra.

They got off at UP's Kannauj district, about 120 km from state capital Lucknow, at around 3 am today. As they began walking towards their hometown in Hardoi district, Vikram collapsed on the road after walking less than a kilometre.

The 60-year-old is one of the lakhs of migrants who were stranded after transport services were shut due to coronavirus lockdown in March. Labourers, accompanied by their families, have been seen taking long journeys to their homes on foot.

Despite special trains and buses run by centre and state governments, heartbreaking images continue to capture the misery of these labourers left helpless without food, money and jobs.

At least 31 migrants have died since Friday in road accidents while they were trying to return to their villages. Of these, 26 died on Saturday when two trucks collided in UP's Araiya district, prompting the state to seal its borders.

This morning, hundreds were stopped at the border districts by police amid protests after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath instructions to officials on Saturday.