On September 16, 2024, four agricultural labourers from West Bengal collapsed due to starvation at Dr. MGR Chennai Central Railway Station after reportedly going without food for two days. One of them, identified as Manik Ghori, 50, from Mangrul village in West Midnapore, is currently on a ventilator at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH). The other three labourers, also from Mangrul Satya Pandit, 33, Samar Khan, 35, and Asit Pandit, 35 are stable and recovering.
The group of eleven labourers had arrived in Tamil Nadu six days prior, seeking agricultural work in Ponneri, a town on the outskirts of Chennai. After three days without finding employment, they decided to return to West Bengal. However, they ran out of money and were forced to stay at the railway station. Four of them collapsed at around 9:05 a.m. on platform number 4.
Following their collapse, the labourers received initial medical attention at Apollo Emergency Care Centre and were then transferred to RGGGH. The Chennai Corporation intervened by providing food and shelter to the remaining seven labourers at the city's homeless shelter. According to Jagadeesan, City Health Officer of Greater Chennai Corporation, authorities are closely monitoring the conditions of those admitted to the hospital. One labourer had already left for West Bengal on the Howrah Mail the previous night.