New Delhi: At least seven deaths on-board migrant special trains were reported on Wednesday, officials said, putting the Railways in the dock over its handling of these non-AC trains.
The national transporter said most of the people who died had pre-existing health conditions.
The seven deaths — four on-board trains travelling to Bihar and three terminating in Uttar Pradesh — happened over the past few days, and were reported on Wednesday.
The death of 35-year-old Uresh Khatoon shook the conscience of the nation and left the Railways scrambling for an explanation. Her toddler’s vain attempt to wake up her from the eternal sleep on a platform in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur was captured in a moving video that went viral on social media Wednesday, opening the floodgates of criticism for the Railways.
The Railways attributed her death to a recent heart surgery, also corroborated by her son.
Another death reported from Muzaffarpur was that of four-and-a-half-year-old son of a migrant from Bihar based in Delhi. The boy died at the railway station here on arrival by a ”Shramik Special” train, while his father desperately hunted for some milk he believed would have saved his child.
While his father said he died of heat, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Railway, Ramakant Upadhyay, claimed the boy was ailing for some time and had died before the train reached Muzaffarpur station.
In the state’s Danapur, the body of 70-year-old Basisth Mahato, a heart patient, was taken out of the Mumbai-Darbhanga Shramik Special train. Mahto was returning with his family after treatment in Mumbai and died between Maihar and Satna, the Railways said.
Also, a 58-year-old migrant worker died on-board the Surat-Hajipur Shramik special train on Tuesday evening, Superintendent of Police, Devendra Nath, said.
He has been identified as Bhushan Singh of Saran district in Bihar. The body has been sent for postmortem.
In Uttar Pradesh, a migrant train from Mumbai reached Manduadih, Varanasi, on Wednesday with two dead passengers — physically challenged Dashrath Prajapati (30), and 63-year-old Ram Ratan Gaud.
The Railways said while Prajapati was suffering from a kidney disease, Gaud had “many ailments”.
The body of Sheikh Salim, 45, a resident of Bahraich (UP) was found aboard the Vapi-Deen Dayal Upadhayay Junction Shramik Special train when it reached Sagar station.
The Railways said the body has been kept at the district hospital for postmortem and for testing of coronavirus.
Travelling migrant workers have complained of lack of food and water on-board these special trains and also alleged they are not running on time and are being diverted “at will”.
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