Daily Mail shares agonizing footage of a young boy carelessly playing with a blanket draped over his mother's dead body. His mother, 35-year-old Arbina Khatoon died on Wednesday at Muzaffarpur station, in northern Bihar state. Fellow passengers believe that her cause of death was hunger, thirst and exhaustion after a brutal 1,000-mile journey.
Just one of the millions of Indian migrant workers who lost their jobs due to the coronavirus crisis, Khatoon was left stranded miles away from their home villages after the country went into lockdown in March.
In an effort to get the workers home, the Indian government set up specially chartered trains to travel them across the country. However, the conditions are poor. Overall, nine migrants, including a two-year-old child, were reported to have died in just three days this week.
Local police reported that Khatoon had died due to illness, attested by a letter shared to Indian Railways coming from her relatives saying she had poor health. NDTV reported that she had already travelled some 1,118 miles from western Gujarat state by the time she died. They said she was attempting to get to Katihar, another 240 miles away.
An India Railways spokesperson told PTI that most of the cases who died were of old, sick, or diseased individuals, who had gone to big cities seeking medical treatment.
Tons of India's poor, including migrant workers, have been severely affected by the rigid lockdown. Many people in cities were losing their jobs, going hungry, and fighting to go home to their villages.
Why is Heat Exhaustion Dangerous?
According to Mayo Clinic, heat exhaustion is a condition which involves heavy sweating and a rapid pulse. The condition is a result of the body overheating. Furthermore, the ailment is brought about by a combination of high humidity and arduous physical activity.
Heat exhaustion can cause severe consequences, even death, if not given immediate intervention. Local media in India have reported that the migrant deaths were caused by exhaustion from the packed trains, scorching heat, and limited access to food and water.
According to sources, some have walked or cycled long lengths to reach home in the harsh summer heat. As a result, dozens died from exhaustion or accidents.
Moreover, some critics say the special trains have been delayed, and left migrants lingering in the trains in blistering hot weather for days. Likewise, there had also been a shortage of food and water on the trips, allegations that Indian Railways and the government oppose.
In defense, the Indian government claims that most of the deaths happened in people with already pre-existing medical conditions who travelled to large cities for treatment and were trying to return home.
Coronavirus Crisis in India
India has so far reported a total of 158,613 coronavirus cases and 4,540 deaths from the pandemic. The country has now reached one of the highest daily infection totals in the world.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government is preparing to release a new set of guidelines to be issued this weekend. India will possibly be extending the lockdown in badly-hit areas as it builds up economic activity.
The Health Ministry reported a total of 158,333 cases on Thursday. The ministry disclosed a sudden leap of 6,566 cases in the past 24 hours, with 4,531 deaths, an escalation of 194. It also reported that the recovery rate has also risen to more than 42 percent.
India's financial and entertainment capital, Mumbai, is the worst-hit city in the country. The city holds more than 33,000 positive COVID-19 cases and nearly 1,200 deaths. A boost in instances has also been reported in some of India's poorest eastern states. Many believe that it might be due to the migrant workers stranded returning to native villages on special trains.
India started relaxing lockdown restrictions earlier this month. The government allowed the reopening of shops, resumption of some trains and domestic flights, and the mobility of vehicles. Furthermore, educational sectors, hotels, restaurants, and Metro services remain closed nationwide.
