COVID-19 impact: Mumbai migrant worker dies 'hungry' on a delayed train

Jokhan Yadav, a 46-year-old ill migrant labourer onboard the Kurla LTT-Varanasi Shramik Express train allegedly died of hunger after not having eaten anything for 62 hours, a nephew who was accompanying him has alleged.

Family members said that Jokhan had recently undergone angioplasty and was under medication, which he could not take due to lack of food.

"He could not take his medicines as there was no food and he passed away onboard the train. We carried food for a day or so, but after the train got delayed, we were left hungry and thirsty," nephew Ravish Chand Yadav said.

Satish Kumar Yadav, Jokhan's brother said Ravish informed the railways on Twitter, but no action was taken. "I will remember this incident throughout my life and how the Railway Ministry and the UP government have treated us," he said. There were provided with some water at Itarsi and Katni, but many could not get the bottles due to the heavy rush.

Ravish first tweeted about the issue on May 20 saying that there was no food or water onboard the train and that people would die this way. Soon, another account retweeted his tweet tagging the Railways. The Railways then asked him to share train details and current location, which Ravish did. Railways then tagged Divisional Railway Manager Prayagraj asking him to look into the matter as the train was reaching Bindanchal station.

However, on May 24 at 7:18 am, Ravish tweeted saying that his uncle had died onboard the train. He tweeted "Shramik train nahi, Maut ka safar hai," to a tweet by Piyush Goyal where he was glorifying Shramik train achievements.

"Our train started from Kurla LTT on May 20 at 6:50 pm and was supposed to reach Varanasi on May 23. But we didn't eat anything for almost 62 hours," he added. While there was no official statement issued, officials said the passenger died onboard the train before it reached Varanasi adding that congestion on tracks and then refusals by state authorities to accept trains compounded the problem and delayed trains.

20 May
Day their train left from Kurla

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