At least 24 migrant workers have died and dozens were left with severe injuries after the trucks that ferried them had collided each other in Auraiya district, Uttar Pradesh in the wee hours of Saturday and it has got added to the row of incidents that exemplified the plight of the migrant workers across the nation as these people have become more vulnerable in the wake of the nationwide lockdown. 

According to the reports, the mishap has happened on the national highway between 3.00 am to 3.30 am at Mihauli under Kotwali police jurisdiction, which is almost 200 kilometers from Lucknow, when the trolley collided with a mini-truck. The trolley was carrying 81 migrant workers who were traveling from Delhi to Madhya Pradesh while the mini-truck was transporting 50 workers who were coming from Rajasthan.

Both the vehicles had turned upside down after losing the control and the mishap has claimed 24 lives and over 30 have been injured. The officials had reached the spot and taken the injured to the hospital. However, 15 of the injured remain critical and the injured had been going to Bihar and Jharkhand from Rajasthan. Following the incident, the state government has deployed the rescue operations. 

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had expressed his condolences to the families of the victims. By taking to Twitter, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the accident is extremely sad and the government is taking the relief work. The Prime Minister consoled the families of the victims and wished the injured to have a speedy recovery. 

The reports stated that the government has launched a probe into the accident and offered Rs 2 lakh solatium to the families of the victims and Rs 50,000 for people who have been injured. 

The plight of the migrant workers and their desperate need to return home have been pushing them to carry out the toughest passages to reach their homes and some had arrived at their destinations while some had departed the world. After they have been left with no pay and opportunities for their survival, they are undertaking the journey on foot, walking hundreds of miles against the climate and hunger challenges. 

Earlier this month, about 16 migrant workers have died in Aurangabad, Maharashtra after the goods train ran over them when they were sleeping on the rail tracks and the nation had witnessed more such deaths of the migrant workers since the lockdown either due to the mishaps or due to their health condition. The Central government had recently started special trains to transport the workers from the states where they have been stranded to their home states. However, most of the workers still continue the risky journey on foot.