Post-Auraiya tragedy, labourers still travelling in crowded trucks

Agra: Days after 26 migrant workers died in a tragic road accident in Auraiya, Uttar Pradesh police continues to intercept large number of distressed labourers, including pregnant women, all crouched in crowded goods trucks.

In the past two days, Kasganj police have rescued over 350 such migrant workers and their family members from Mathura-Bareilly national highway, and later arranged both government and private buses for their onward journey.

Most of these labourers have arrived in UP from Gujarat, Rajasthan and Haryana, the police said.

According to sources, at least 40-70 migrant workers and their family members were found travelling in each truck.

One of the migrant labourers said, “We are close to 50 people who were going to Bareilly from Jaipur in a truck, when Soron police of Kasganj intercepted us. Prior to that policemen didn’t object to our journey.”

Another worker said, “This is our second day in the truck. Forty men boarded the truck from Surat.”

Mohammad Athar, a migrant from Muzaffarpur district of Bihar, who came along with 70 others in a truck from Faridabad said, “We had no choice but to risk our lives in a truck. Due to lockdown, there was no job left for us, every day our landlord use to hurl abuses and demand rent. There was no way we could have survived in Faridabad, as we didn’t even have enough food or money. However, when our truck was intercepted by Kasganj police, we were offered food and drinking water. None of the workers had eaten anything since our journey began.”

Another worker of Bihar’s Sitamarhi district said, “The truck driver didn’t charge a single penny from anyone. Our situation was grave in Faridabad, and we just want to go home. The UP police have intercepted our truck, but they have also offered food and water. Our only demand is to let us go home.”

Speaking to TOI, Ripudman Singh, SHO Soron, whose team intercepted over 350 labourers in two days, including 140 coming from Jhansi, said, “Majority of the labourers caught travelling in trucks are from UP districts such as Bareilly, Budaun, Shahjahanpur, Bahraich, Moradabad, Rampur and some from Bihar. They all were coming from Gujarat, Rajasthan and Haryana. For UP’s migrant workers we have arranged UPSRTC buses, and for Bihar, private buses were used to drop them at their home districts.”

“On Sunday, over 250 were sent in eight buses, on Monday 146 have been dispersed after rescuing them from crowded goods truck. The workers also included pregnant women,” he added.