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Rising temperatures and the deaths of at least 8 migrant workers in the past 20 days have prompted the Madhya Pradesh government to lift restrictions on the MP-Maharashtra border for workers in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand, authorities said .
The influx of migrant workers, about 25,000 per day on average, has caused the administration concern. These workers are covering hundreds of miles traveling or walking across the state to the UP border. According to the authorities, it is practically impossible to evaluate such a large number of workers, including the elderly, women and children. Therefore, this is an immediate victim, but the administration cannot stop them as they become aggressive and lead to problems of law and order, the officials added.
Also read: Migrant worker walking back to Bihar hit by SUV on Ambala road, killed
Bijasan and Khetia on the MP-Maharashtra border are two entry points for people coming from the Maharashtra side. However, more than 90% of workers enter the state through Bijasan to reach the Agra-Mumbai highway.
Bijasan saw stones thrown by agitated workers when they were detained by local police on May 3. Many were injured, including at least three police officers, including a deputy inspector. Later, the police filed an FIR against 400 unidentified migrant workers for committing violence. There have been clashes between the two sides several times in the past two weeks or so.
The Bijasan Temple Trust and district administration have arranged food and water for workers at the temple facilities. The village panchayats, which are located on both sides of the Agra-Mumbai highway, have been instructed to set up a tent and also to organize food and water for people traveling or walking in their areas, officials said.
An administrative official, who did not want to be named, said: “The restrictions were lifted as pressure mounted with the streams of workers coming from the Maharashtra side, including the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana workers as well. Every time we try to stop them they get aggressive and there’s a law and order problem. It’s unmanageable when thousands of workers in trucks, mini trucks, loading cars, auto rickshaws, bicycles, and even on foot converge on the border. “
The officer said: “Another problem is that when we try to stop workers, they take different routes through mountainous areas and this results in dehydration and death in certain cases. Two workers died Saturday. In this scenario, proper detection of workers for the coronavirus is nearly impossible. At first, when we quarantined people, they became aggressive and caused a lot of trouble. ”
Sendhwa subdivisional magistrate Ghanshyam Dhangar said: “The main problem we face is the health of workers affected by dehydration. Eight people have died in the past 20 days. Sendhwa has mountainous areas. There are a large number of workers who cycle or pedal bicycles for hundreds of kilometers, challenging around 40 degrees Celsius in temperature in Maharashtra itself. By the time they reach the border, they become dehydrated. It is Ramzan’s time. There have been at least three deaths when workers had no water throughout the day and continued to walk or bike. This led to dehydration and they died. “
The SDM said: “So far, we have arranged for workers, who are walking, to be housed in trucks, buses and other vehicles that transport other workers to Uttar Pradesh. But now we have decided to send those workers from other states on our buses to Dewas from where they would be taken to Guna and from there they would be taken to the UP border. “
Barwani District Superintendent of Police DR Teniwar said: “For four or five days we have allowed people to enter due to their large numbers. About 25,000 people come every day. “
On Sunday, Prime Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan instructed district collectors to extend all possible facilities to workers, including food, water, and lodging, among others.
Chouhan instructed officials: “In trying to fully understand the problem of large numbers of people traveling on foot, they should be welcomed as guests in the districts and provided with the necessary facilities. These kinds of service opportunities occasionally appear in the history of human civilization. These helpless workers from other states should be welcomed with an open heart in the heart of the country. “
However, unlike the MP-Maharashtra border, the MP-Gujarat border in Jhabua has not witnessed an influx of people from Gujarat after more than 25,000 workers on the Dahod side, who wanted the border to be opened. , were forced by the Gujarat administration to return to their places with the assurance that they would be sent back to their destinations by train.
Collector, Jhabua district, Prabal Sepaha said: “None is coming from the Gujarat side now. As far as the people of Madhya Pradesh are concerned, around 1.5 lakh of workers from different parts of Madhya Pradesh have arrived so far. ”
However, an administrative official who declined to be named said: “There are still workers, though not in large numbers, who enter the district through agricultural fields to find their way to Uttar Pradesh through Shivpuri or Datia.”
Collector, Shivpuri district, Anugraha P said: “About 5,000 people pass through the district on the road to UP daily. The UP government opens its border at intervals to allow workers to enter the state. “
Those who come from Maharashtra take different routes to UP. While a section of them heads to UP through Shivpuri and Datia near Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh. There are groups of workers who prefer to enter Uttar Pradesh through the Sagar, Chhatarpur and Tikamgarh districts in the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh.
The Superintendent of Police, Chhatarpur District, Kumar Saurabh, said: “We have made all the arrangements for the workers like food and water. We send those workers who are walking buses to the UP border. “
(With contributions from Anupam Pateriya in Sagar)
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