LUCKNOW: It was a horrific Saturday for migrants on the move in Uttar Pradesh as around 26 of them lost life in road accidents in different parts of the state. While 24 people lost lives in a major accident in Auraiyya, 180 km from state capital Lucknow, a couple, on their way to Bihar, died on Lucknow-Agra Expressway near Unnao when the autorickshaw they were travelling in was hit by a truck.
In Auraiyya, 24 migrant labourers were killed and over 35 others injured when a truck carrying them was hit by DCM mini-truck in the wee hours of Saturday.
Most of the migrants, hailing from Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, were coming from neighbouring Rajasthan, Delhi and Faridabad. Of the 35 who got injured in the mishap, 15 were shifted to PGI at Saifai in Etawah in a critical condition.
According to sources, the incident took place near Mihauli village under Kotwali police circle around 3:30 am. Auraiyya District Magistrate Abhishek Singh said the probe was on to ascertain the cause of the accident. He claimed that the district administration was carrying out the rescue and relief work on war footing. The injured were being rushed to nearby hospitals for immediate medical attention, said the DM.
Meanwhile, taking the cognizance of the incident, UP CM Yogi Adityanath directed senior officials to rush to the site of the accident and ensure proper medical help to the injured. The CM announced a financial assurance of Rs 2 lakh to the family of each of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for those who got
injured in the mishap.
Notably, the CM also ordered suspension of the officer-in-charge of the police station concerned for permitting the entry of trucks carrying migrants despite government clear orders that none of them should be allowed to use unauthorised means of transport.
The CM also directed the senior officials to issue warnings to Auraiyya district administration officers for their negligence and failure to check movement of migrants in trucks and other private vehicles. Even explanation was sought from the Mathura and Agra SSP and ASP as to why did they provide passage to the container carrying the migrants.
According to Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi, the CM also directed the Commissioner Sudhir M Bobade and IG Kanpur to visit the site and give the report on the cause of the accident immediately.
According to Auraiyya CMO Dr Archana Srivastava, 24 people were brought dead to the district hospital. She said that 35 people were hospitalised and 15, injured critically, were referred to Saifai PGI.
However, the local sources claimed that the container in which the labourers were travelling in was stationed at a dhaba (food joint) when the speeding DCM mini-truck hit it at 3:30 am. While the driver of the container was having tea, the labourers were sleeping inside the container. Under the impact of the
collision, both the mini truck and the container turned turtle in a nearby gorge.
Those who died in Auraiyya mishap included five migrants of UP, two of Bihar, seven of Jharkhand and four of West Bengal. The names and identities of the rest of the deceased were being ascertained by the authorities.
The other incident took place when a couple -- Ashok Chaudhury, his wife Chhoti and son Krishna, 6, - was travelling in their auto from Jhajjar in Haryana to their native village in Darbhanga in Bihar. Their auto was hit by a loader when Ashok was filling petrol. Consequently, the couple died on the spot leaving Krishna behind.