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Coronavirus: in India, jobless migrant workers are dying to go home
- Tens of thousands of people are walking on motorways and railway tracks, or riding trucks, buses and crowded trains in the blazing heat
- The exodus of millions of labourers has become a concern for the government as it prepares to ease the lockdown from Monday to reopen the economy
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At least 30 Indian migrant workers were killed in road accidents on Saturday as they tried to return to their home villages during a nationwide coronavirus lockdown, officials said.
The accidents, in central and northern India, were the latest involving some of the millions of labourers left stranded and jobless in cities, where some had toiled for years building homes and roads, due to the seven-week shutdown.
Tens of thousands of people are walking on motorways and railway tracks or riding trucks, buses and crowded trains in blazing heat. Some are accompanied by pregnant wives and young children, braving threats from the coronavirus pandemic.
I don’t know what the future holds for me. One thing is certain. If I die, I will die in my home.
In the most deadly incident, a truck carrying about 40 labourers struck another vehicle also carrying workers and their families that was parked at a roadside cafe in Uttar Pradesh, local magistrate Abishek Singh said.
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It is thought the driver of the truck had fallen asleep, Singh said. the vehicle was carrying lime powder which suffocated many of those who died, all of whom were men, he added.
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The Indian government and charities have tried to set up shelter homes for workers, and started a limited number of trains to facilitate their travel, but their numbers are simply overwhelming, leaving many of them little choice but to head on a perilous journey home.
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