Published 16:53 IST, May 17th 2020
Uttar Pradesh migrants break police barriers in Madhya Pradesh's Rewa to enter state
A day after Uttar Pradesh banned the entry of migrants walking on-foot and trucks, Â hundreds of migrants were seen breaking state border in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh
A day after Uttar Pradesh banned the entry of migrants walking on-foot and trucks, hundreds of migrants were seen breaking state borders in Madhya Pradesh's Chakghat area in Rewa district, to enter Uttar Pradesh on Sunday. Visuals show hundreds of mask-clad migrants enter the state as a police officer looks on helplessly. Thousands of migrants have gathered in several parts of India demanding they be sent home.
Migrants break barriers to enter UP
UP govt to arrange buses for walking migrants
On Saturday, the Uttar Pradesh government instructed all district magistrates to arrange buses for migrant workers, who are found walking on foot, to send them to their homes. Moreover, the government has also banned the entry of any migrants on foot and trucks in the wake of the tragedy. This move came after a truck collided with a container truck in Uttar Pradesh's Auraiya at 3:30 AM killing as many as 24 migrant workers and injuring more than 15. The migrants were coming from Rajasthan on the truck and were returning to Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand and some parts of Uttar Pradesh.
Uttar Pradesh's migrant rush
Earlier in the day, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi, revealed that 522 trains have brought 6.65 lakh migrant workers, from other states till date. Moreover, around 16.5 lakh migrants have returned till date amid lockdown. Apart from this, the government is currently, preparing a database of the skills of the incoming workers to provide employment to 20 lakh people as per their skills.
Stranded migrants issue
After PM Modi had announced the first phase of lockdown, on March 28, thousands of migrant workers were seen thronging the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border at Delhi's Anand Vihar Interstate Bus Terminal in the hope of reaching their homes, defying lockdown and creating a health hazard. Similarly, after PM Modi announced the extension of the lockdown till May 3, on April 14, around 2,000 migrant workers gathered at Bandra station, under the illusion of boarding 'Jansdharan Express' trains to UP, Bengal and Bihar. Apart from this several visuals have been seen of thousands of migrants walking across state borders to reach their native homes due to loss of income amid lockdown. Three notable accidents too have occurred killing 82 such on-foot travelling migrants.
Updated 16:53 IST, May 17th 2020