Migrants' crisis: Video captures toddler trying to wake dead mother
At a train station in Bihar, a toddler was seen playing with the shroud covering his mother's body in a video that has now gone viral. The 23-year-old woman had reached the Muzaffarpur station in Bihar via special trains to ferry migrants across states. The woman reportedly died on the train due to the lack of food and water. Here are more details.
According to NDTV, the woman had started her journey from Gujarat on Sunday. On Monday, she collapsed on the train as it approached Muzaffarpur. The Railways Ministry said the woman had been unwell and died on the train. After her death, her family was asked to deboard at Muzaffarpur. The family—also including the woman's sister, the sister's husband, and two children—was headed to Katihar.
In a video clip of the incident, the toddler can be seen tugging at his mother's shroud ostensibly to wake her up. The mother, however, remains motionless. The shroud then comes off, uncovering the mother's corpse. The video has surfaced on social media and has gone viral, drawing a strong reaction to the plight of migrant workers.
According to the woman's family, she had been unwell due to the lack of food and water, NDTV reported. At the same station, a two-year-old child also died due to the intense heat and inadequate food. The child's family had started-off from Delhi on Sunday.
Since the lockdown was enforced on March 25, lakhs of migrant workers have been rendered unemployed. Without jobs or money, the migrants decided to head back to their homes in their native states, covering hundreds of kilometers on foot, bicycles or hitchhikes amid a travel shutdown. Hundreds have lost their lives either due to accidents or health complications from their arduous journeys.
Earlier this month, the government allowed the movement of migrant workers. However, initial confusion over who will bear the cost added to the migrants' woes. And, now they face another challenge - the blistering heat. The Supreme Court has sought the government's response over lapses in handling the issue. The matter is listed for further hearing on Thursday.
