In Aurangabad, sixteen migrant workers were mowed down by an empty goods train in the early hours of Friday. The workers were employed at a steel manufacturing plant in Jalna, a neighboring district of Aurangabad in central Maharashtra.
Reports state, the workers were walking from Bhusawal to Jalna, where they were to board a “Shramik Special” train to Madhya Pradesh. The mishap occurred at around 5.15AM in between the Badnapur and Kamrad stations.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to his tweeter and said, “Have spoken to Railway Minister Shri Piyush Goyal and he is closely monitoring the situation. All possible assistance required is being provided,”
Extremely anguished by the loss of lives due to the rail accident in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. Have spoken to Railway Minister Shri Piyush Goyal and he is closely monitoring the situation. All possible assistance required is being provided.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 8, 2020
The officials believe that the migrant workers must have fallen asleep on the railway tracks due to exhaustion. The migrant workers had to walk for about 150 kilometers to reach the railway station. After they had walked for about 45 kilometers they stopped to take a break.
The empty goods train was heading from Cherlapally Station near Hyderabad to Panewadi Station near Manmad in Nashik. The loco pilot noticed some men along the tracks, he honked vigorously and tried to stop the train but he couldn’t control the speed on time and hence ran over them.
15 labourers walking back home were crushed to death by train.
What was the mistake for those poor labourers?
They just dreamt to reach home & paid a price of their life for it.
Another heart wrenching start of the day. Fucking GOV🖕#Trainaccident #aurangabadTrainAccident pic.twitter.com/Wy9IqyTgIF— Mariselvam (@maaari_344) May 8, 2020
The Ministry of Railways has ordered an independent inquiry in the tragedy. The inquiry will be done by Ram Kripal, Commissioner of Railway Safety, South Central circle.
Chief Public Relations Officer of South Central Railway C.H. Rakesh said that they have ordered for an inquiry under the Commissioner of Railway Safety, SCR.
The initial reports told us that three laborer’s escaped as they were away from the railway track, one was severely injured and is undergoing treatment at a governemnt hospital, while the remaining twelve laborer’s were killed.
Chief Minister, Shivraj Singh Chauhan, has announced a compensation of Rs five lakh each to the kin of the deceased along with providing aid to the injured. He has also demanded for an inquiry into the incident.
Several migrant workers have tried to go home by unsafe means ever since the government has announced the lockdown. The Maharashtra government has urged the migrants to not take such risks in desperation to go home.
