14 migrant workers killed, over 45 injured in separate accidents in UP, MP

At least 14
migrant workers travelling to their home states have been killed in two
separate accidents in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday night and
Thursday.

In Guna
district in Madhya Pradesh, at least eight migrant labourers were killed and
over 40 injured after the truck they were travelling in collided with a bus. Sources
reported that the truck was carrying around 70 labourers from Maharashtra to
Uttar Pradesh, when it collided head-on with a bus in Guna around 3:00 am on
Thursday.

Most of the
labourers were natives of Unnao in Uttar Pradesh. According to sources the bus
was travelling from Guna to Ahmedabad, but only had a driver and cleaner on it.

In the
second accident, six migrant workers walking on a highway in Muzaffarnagar were
mowed down by an Uttar Pradesh government bus on Wednesday night. Five people
were injured in the incident. Police officials said the victims were travelling
from Punjab to Bihar. The bus was empty at the time.

Sources reported
that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced payment of Rs 2
lakh each to next of kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to those injured in the
Muzaffarnagar accident. Officers have been asked to send the bodies of the
victims to Bihar.

Former Uttar
Pradesh chief minister and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav expressed grief
over the Muzaffarnagar accident and asked why there was no Vande Bharat mission
for the poor migrants. A spate of accidents involving migrant workers
travelling home due to the coronavirus lockdown has been reported in recent
weeks.

 Last week, a train ran over 16 migrant workers
sleeping on rail tracks in Aurangabad.