80 Migrant Workers Dead On Board Shramik Trains: Railways

Around eighty people died between May 9 and May 27 onShramik Special trains meant to ferry migrant workers home, according toRailways officials.

One of them was a coronavirus victim, and eleven othersdied from co-morbidities, said railway officials.

Ten people died on May 23, nine each on May 24 and May25, eight on May 27 and 13 on May 26, as per reports.

The plight of migrant workers stranded by India'ssweeping coronavirus lockdown — and often forced to walk long distances toreach their hometowns — has emerged as a major humanitarian challenge duringthe pandemic.

One of the many heartbreaking images that capture thescale of the crisis comes from a recent video of a child trying to wake up hisdead mother at the Muzaffarpur railway station. She was travelling in a Shramiktrain.

Since the special trains were launched on May 1, lakhsof workers have been ferried home till date.

States like Bihar, West Bengal, and Odisha have reported significant rises in coronavirus cases amid the large-scale return of migrants.

India's total case count has crossed 1.73 lakh, anumber that includes over 4,900 deaths, according to central government data.

Over 82,000 have recovered.