Taking suo moto cognizance based on media reports that many migrants have lost their lives during train journeys, the NHRC on Thursday issued notices to Chief Secretaries of Gujarat and Bihar, Chairman of Railway Board, and Union Home Secretary to file a response within 4 weeks.
Reports across various sections of the media had surfaced in the past few days stating that due to delay in timings of trains and lack of arrangements of food and water some migrant labourers had lost their lives.
According to NHRC, "reportedly, two persons died in Muzaffarpur and one each in Danapur, Sasaram, Gaya, Begusarai, and Jehanabad in Bihar including a 4-year old boy. All of them have reportedly died due to hunger. In another incident, a train reportedly started from Surat district in Gujarat for Siwan in Bihar on May 16 and reached Bihar on May 25 i.e. after 9 days."
"It has observed that if found true, this amounts to gross violation of human rights and therefore, the Chief Secretaries of the Gujarat and Bihar government have been asked to specifically inform as to what steps were taken to ensure basic facilities, including medical, for the migrant labourers who boarded the trains," according to the Commission.
The Commission has asked them to file a response within 4 weeks.
It has also observed that while delaying of trains due to weather for a few hours is acceptable, "but trains getting lost during journey, reaching unexpected destinations, and taking more than a week to reach its scheduled station is hard to believe and require a thorough investigation into the matter."
The Railways had started running Shramik Special trains earlier this month, to return migrant workers, students, among others to their native places, amid the COVID-19 induced lockdown.
( With inputs from ANI )