In five states, accidents kill 22 as migrants return home
CRISIS About 162 labourers killed in such accidents since the imposition of curbs as they head back after losing jobs
nNEW DELHI: Twenty-two people were killed in separate road accidents in five states on Tuesday, taking the death toll in such incidents involving migrant labourers to at least 162 during the lockdown imposed to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
Nine people died in Bihar, four in Maharashtra, six in two separate accidents in Uttar Pradesh, one in Jharkhand, and two in as many incidents in Odisha, according to state officials.
The accident in Bihar’s Bhagalpur took place when a truck with the migrants rammed a bus, which too was carrying labourers who returned on a Shramik Special train on Monday night. Four passengers in the bus, which was on the way to Banka district from Darbhanga, suffered injuries.
The truck, which was carrying iron poles, skidded off the road and fell into a ditch after the collision on NH-31 around 4am. The nine victims sitting atop were buried under the poles, Bhagalpur district magistrate Pranav Kumar said. According to the documents found in their possession, they were residents of east and west Champaran districts. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar expressed grief over the accident and announced a compensation of ~4 lakh to family members of each victim.
In Maharashtra’s Yavatmal district, three migrant labourers and a bus driver were killed and 22 others injured after their vehicle hit a stationary truck early on Tuesday, the police said. Among those injured, 17 were reported to be in a serious condition.
The accident took place at Kolwan village around 3.30am, when the bus was on its way from Solapur to the Nagpur railway station. The labourers were going there to board a Shramik Special train to reach their home towns in Jharkhand, additional superintendent of police Noorul Hasan said. The bus driver lost control and the vehicle hit a stationary truck carrying road construction material, he said.
In UP, two separate accidents involving migrant workers were reported. In the first incident, a truck carrying labourers overturned on the Jhansi-mirzapur highway, killing three women — between 30 and 38 years — and leaving 17 others injured, the police said.
The accident took place at Mahuva crossing in Mahoba district. The labourers had returned from Delhi and boarded the truck near Harpalpur along the Madhya Pradesh border. The truck fell into a roadside ditch after a tyre burst.
Madhya Pradesh
5465 229 2630
Chhattisgarh
100
Maharashtra
37136
Telangana
1634
Goa
46 7 7 42
Karnataka
2078 1395 149 543