The Supreme Court on Friday asked how can anyone stop incidents like the Aurangabad train mishap, in which 16 migrant workers were killed, if the labourers sleep on railway tracks. The apex court also observed that how can anyone stop migrants who want to keep walking. The migrant labourers started walking towards their hometowns amid the coronavirus COVID-19 lockdown.
The SC observation came a week after the Aurangabad accident in which the migrant workers who were sleeping on the tracks were mowed down by a freight train. The migrant labourers were killed when the train ran over them between Jalna and Aurangabad in the Nanded Division of South Central Railway in Karmad police station area of the Aurangabad district.
The apex court asked the Solicitor General, the lawyer of the Central government if the migrants on the streets can be stopped in any way. In its reply, it said that the state governments are arranging for transport but people are leaving on foot in anger, and not waiting. It further said, "What can be done in such a situation? Governments can only request for them not to walk on foot. Even force cannot be used on them."
The Ministry of Railways had ordered a comprehensive probe into the Aurangabad accident. Taking to micro-blogging site Twitter, the Ministry of Railways had tweeted, "Ram Kripal, Commissioner of Railway Safety, South Central circle will hold an independent inquiry in the labourers' runover incident in Parbhani-Manmad section of Nanded Railway division of South Central Railway."
As per Railways officials, the migrant labourers, hailing from Madhya Pradesh, were sleeping on the railway track when the accident took place. In a statement released by the Railways, the persons run over are natives of Umarya and Shahdol of Madhya Pradesh and worked at SRG Company in Jalna, Maharashtra.
Maharashtra Chief Minister's Office (CMO) on May 8 announced an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of those who were killed. "Rupees five lakhs each has been announced as ex gratia to families of the deceased in the Karmad (Aurangabad) train accident," said Maharashtra CMO.
BJP leader Ram Kadam also expressed condolences on the tragedy, saying "The Aurangabad accident is tragic. The Maharashtra government has not made any arrangements for food for migrant labourers and hence people are forced to walk for miles."
What is being probed is the role of patrolmen who are tasked with keeping trespassers away from tracks and also alert the nearest station about any incident, reported news agency PTI.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has already issued notice to the Maharashtra state government. Taking suo motu cognizance of media reports, the Commission has directed State Chief Secretary and District Magistrate of Aurangabad to submit a detailed report within four weeks.
"Officers have been directed to submit a detailed report, within four weeks into the incident. It should also include details of the steps taken by the state and the district authorities to provide food, shelter, and other basic amenities to the poor people, especially the migrant labourers, who are facing extreme difficulties from every angle," NHRC had said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the state govt has been directed to submit a detailed report, within 4 weeks into the incident. The notice issued by NHRC also demands detail report of the steps taken by the State and the district authorities to provide food, shelter and other basic amenities to the poor people, especially the migrant labourers, who are facing extreme difficulties from every angle.
NHRC noted that prima facie, the mishap can be termed as a train accident as normally it is not expected that people will be sleeping on the railway tracks. However, the crucial aspect is that the poor labourers, who were already facing many hardships amid countrywide lockdown, were forced to walk on foot for a very long distance due to non-availability of any mode of transport, lost their lives due to apparent negligence by the district administration, the statement read.
