Coronavirus Lockdown: Migrant Workers Hide In Empty Milk Tanker To Reach Rajasthan, Held By Police

Around ten migrant labourers on March 28 were found travelling to Rajasthan from neighbouring Thane district by hiding themselves inside an empty milk tanker.

Migrants chose this method as regular transport vehicles are currently not available. (Representative Image/ Getty)

New Delhi: Feeling from their workplaces after nationwide lockdown announced by the Central government in the wake of Coronavirus outbreak, thousands of migrant workers from Delhi, Noida, Mumbai, Pune, Thane and other metro cities have hit the road to reach their hometowns due to unavailability of work and money to eat. Ever since the lockdown was announced, there have been several media reports about several such migrant workers riding in cycle rickshaws or even hitting roads bare foot, walking hundreds of kilometers, to reach their homes in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. On March 24, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a 21-day countrywide lockdown to prevent the further spread of deadly Coronavirus that has so far infected over 900 people and reportedly caused 19 deaths across the country. In at least on latest incident, around ten migrant labourers on March 28 were found travelling to Rajasthan from neighbouring Thane district by hiding themselves inside an empty milk tanker amid the ongoing nationwide lockdown. Police have informed that all the 10 persons, including some women, were detained by the police at Talasari in Palghar district, located along the Maharashtra-Gujarat border. "Ten persons, including some women, hid themselves inside the milk tanker. They started their journey from Kalyan in neighbouring Thane district and wanted to go to their home state of Rajasthan," spokesperson of Palghar Police told news agency PTI. The migrants chose this method as regular transport vehicles are currently not available due to the lockdown. "When the vehicle reached Talasari check-post, the police sensed something amiss and checked the tanker. During the search, they found the ten persons hiding inside,"  spokesperson added. All of them are labourers from Rajasthan working in and around Mumbai. According to the Police, they have been detained and booked under IPC section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant). In  somewhat similar incident which took place earlier, the Thane City Police had caught 40 migrant labourers when they were heading to Uttar Pradesh in a truck. Meanwhile, budget air-carrier SpiceJet has offered services of its aircraft and crew members to the government to operate some flights from Delhi and Mumbai to Patna to alleviate the suffering of migrant workers. Government, however, is yet not responded to the offer.