In a new tragedy, six migrant workers were killed after being hit by an Uttar Pradesh government bus near Muzaffarnagar on Wednesday night.
The accident happened at the Muzaffarnagar-Saharanpur highway at around midnight. The victims were daily wage laborers in Punjab and were walking back to their home in Bihar’s Gopalganj.
Three others are reported to be injured in the accident and are currently under observation. A case has been registered against the driver and investigation is underway.
The Coronavirus lockdown has left the poor and underprivileged to fend for themselves. They are out of work, food, and shelter. Thousands of workers have begun their journey of going back home on foot.
Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister expressed grief over the migrants’ death while taking a jibe at the ruling BJP government. He asked why can’t the poor workers come under the government’s ‘Vande Bharat Mission’.
“Deep grief over the painful death of migrant laborers in the Muzaffarnagar bus accident in Uttar Pradesh. tribute! First train and now bus accident, why the lives of workers are so cheap. Can’t the poor people of the country come into the ‘Vande Bharat Mission’? It is not right to fly so high that the truth of the ground is ignored,” he tweeted.
Accidents involving migrant workers have been reported across the country. Last week, 16 migrant workers were brutally run over by a cargo train while sleeping on railway tracks in Maharashtra’s Aurangabad.