SUMMARY
‘Singapore Syndrome’ is all about faster spread of COVID-19 cases during lockdown in situations where maintaining social distancing is impossible like the cramped dormitories housing the foreign migrant workers in Singapore. Places like Dharavi slum in Mumbai are all but big dormitories far worse than the dormitories of Singapore. India’s lockdown has caused the largest internal displacement ever recorded in history and exposed the migrants to colossal humanitarian crisis because of the failure of both the government and the Supreme Court to ensure the right to life and liberty, the right to freedom of movement with safety and dignity as guaranteed under Articles 14, 19(1) and 21 of the Constitution and enforce Section 12 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005. India must take course corrective measures to tackle COVID-19 pandemic.
Contents
1. The impact of Singapore Syndrome in India’s dormitories
2. Deaths of 251 migrant workers while returning home
2.1 Death of 170 migrants travelling in other modes of transport
2.2 Death of 81 migrants in Shramik Trains
3. Conclusion and recommendations
1. The impact of Singapore Syndrome in India’s dormitories
At 8 pm on 24 March 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced national lockdown for 21 days effective from 25 March to tackle COVID-19 with four hours notice, expecting 1.4 billion people to remain at home. Many of the migrants and the poor including daily wage earners were instantly left jobless, homeless and without provisions for food while the state governments were not prepared in any manner to address the immediate needs of the poor and the migrants on real time basis following the lockdown. As thousands of migrant workers flocked at Anand Vihar Inter-state Bus terminus in New Delhi on 28 March[1], the government of India issued circular on 29th March 2020 prohibiting movement and transportation of migrant labourers and directed the state governments to prevent the exodus of migrants and to shift them to relief shelter homes and relief camps instead.[2]
The notification did not stop India’s internal migrant workers, estimated at about 454 million as per 2011 census,[3] from returning home by walking hundreds of kilometers or by any other means available in the absence of any transport – private or public. The desperation was real – most of the migrant workers working in unorganised sectors were not paid wages even for the month of March though they had worked till 24th March, there was no prospect for wages till April or beyond if lockdown is extended, and the only prospects were living in slums, tenements/dingy room, the pavements with no food.
During the lockdown which was extended for the fourth time from 24 March 2020 to 31 May 2020, at least 251 migrant workers died while returning home including 170 persons who died in road accidents, forest fire, due to exhaustion, illness, negligence in relief camps etc and about 81 persons who died in Shramik[4] trains. India had provided 3,740 Shramik trains for transport of the migrant workers and about h 40% of these trains ran an average of eight hours delay[5] from 1 May to 30 May. The Shramik trains had turned into living hell-holes not only because of the deplorable conditions without water and food but also running without fans during scorching Indian summer.
As India enters 5th lockdown from 1 to 30 June with relaxations, there is a need to assess the impact of the lockdown from 24 March to 31 May. The reported discrepancies in the government data on the status of COVID-19 infections and inadequate testing in comparison to population do not provide any lesson except that the COVID-19 cases increased from 564 confirmed cases with 10 deaths on 24 March[6] to 182,142 confirmed cases with 5,164 deaths as on 31st May as per the statistics of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
In this context, Singapore’s experience with COVID-19 is instructive for India. By 5 March 2020, Singapore was hailed being as the model country tackling COVID-19 with no reported virus-related deaths despite 96 cases, and a slowing rate of infection that’s been outpaced by recoveries.[7] The virus soon spread to tightly packed dormitories where about 200,000 workers from Bangladesh, India, and other Asian countries live and social distancing of the migrant workers is not possible. As per information released on 27 May by Ministry of Health, Singapore has not only became the country with the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in South East Asia despite the lockdown from 7 April to 1 June but out of the total 32,417 COVID-19 cases in the country, a whopping 30,623 or 94.5% were “dormitory cases” where virus has been spreading fast.[8] Singapore’s Ministry of Health provided that the total number of Singaporeans/ Permanent Residents infected were 1,554 with 411 imported cases and 1,143 community cases while total number of Long-Term and Work Pass Holders infected was 31,263 with 118 individuals, 522 community and whopping 30,623 ‘dormitory cases’.[9]
‘Singapore Syndrome’ can be described as faster spread of COVID-19 cases during lockdown situations where social distancing is impossible.
‘Singapore Syndrome’ is inescapable for the India’s poor and migrant workers locked in places like Dharavi slum in Mumbai which are all but big dormitories. The situation in terms of access to civic amenities and maintaining social distancing in Indian dormitories where millions of people live is far worse than the dormitories of Singapore. Infections of 15% of the total foreign workers living in dormitories i.e. about 31,263 out of the total 200,000 foreigner workers of Singapore by 27 May is indicative of the possible spread of the virus in Indian dormitories. As the Advocate General of Gujarat told the Gujarat High Court on 23 May, if everybody is tested, 70% of tested people in Ahmadabad would be found COVID-19 positive.[10]
It is increasingly becoming clear that lockdown of the poor and migrant workers in Indian dormitories has caused spread of the COVID-19 and many of these migrants returning home are possibly carrying the disease.
For instance, as of 30 May, 2,433 migrants who have returned to Bihar have tested positive for the coronavirus and a majority of them have returned from places like Maharashtra (613), Delhi (534), Gujarat (342), Haryana (213), Uttar Pradesh (124), Rajasthan (118), Telangana (103), West Bengal (101) and Punjab (73). These constituted 68.24% of the total confirmed Covid-19 cases in Bihar as of 30 May.[11] Asymptomatic cases or tests wrongly coming COVID negative are absolute possibilities.
The North East States, which are like Islands, also witnessed a spike in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks. The spurt in coronavirus cases in the region were reported after inter-state movement was allowed during the lockdown period. The first case in the region was detected in Manipur on 24 March.[12] On 1 May 2020, the total number of cases in the Northeast was 61. The figure rose to 286 on 17 May.[13] As of 31 May 2020, there are 1689 positive cases reported in the Northeast – 4 in Arunachal Pradesh, 280 in Tripura[14], 1272 in Assam[15], 62 in Manipur[16] , 27 in Meghalaya[17], 43 in Nagaland[18], 1 in Mizoram. Assam had recorded 159 new Covid-19 positive cases on 30 May 2020[19] after the lockdown restrictions were eased on 4 May and migrant workers started coming back to their homes.[20] Tripura registered 11 new Covid-19 positive cases on 31 May 2020 and all the newly detected patients had recently returned from Chennai.[21]
The community transmission of COVID-19 could not be contained not only because the Government of India has abysmally failed to address the immediate needs of the poor and migrants living in Indian dormitories during the lockdown. It is also because of the fact that the Supreme Court too had failed to effectively intervene till 28 May i.e. over two months after the lockdown to ensure the right to life and liberty, the right to freedom of movement to return home with safety and dignity as guaranteed under Articles 14, 19(1) and 21 of the Constitution and enforcement of the Section 12 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005.
On 28 May, the government of India claimed before the Supreme Court to have transported 9.1 million migrants i.e. 5 million by 3,700 Shramik trains and about 4.1 million by road transport from 1 to 27 May 2020[22]. It is the largest internal displacement in the world ever recorded in history and the migrants were exposed to colossal humanitarian crisis.
2. Deaths of 251 migrant workers while returning home
From 24 March 2020 to 31 May 2020, at least 251 migrant workers died while trying to return to their homes. This includes 170 persons who died in road accidents, forest fire, due to exhaustion or illness or negligent in relief camps and about 81 persons who died in Shramik trains as explained below.
2.1 Death of 170 migrants travelling in other modes of transport
At least 170 migrant workers were killed in road accidents, forest fire, due to exhaustion or illness or negligent in relief camps while trying to return home as given below.
On 24 March 2020 night, four people – including a one-year-old baby– died in a forest fire in Theni district in Tamil Nadu while they were taking the forest path home from the estate they worked at, due to the lack of motorised transport. This was first case of deaths due to the lockdown occurred in Tamil Nadu.[23]
On 27 March 2020, eight persons, including an 18-month-old boy, who were part of a group of migrant labourers returning home in Raichur district of Karnataka, died in a road accident on the outskirts of Hyderabad in Telangana. About 31 migrant workers employed by a construction firm in Suryapet district of Telangana were traveling in a Bolero Max open truck when their vehicle was hit by a truck loaded with mangoes from the rear.[24]
On 28 March 2020, Ranveer Singh, (39 years), employed by a restaurant in Delhi as a home delivery worker, died in Agra, Uttar Pradesh while on his way to the Morena district of Madhya Pradesh on foot. He reportedly died of exhaustion.[25]
On 28 March 2020, four migrant workers identified as Ramesh Bhatt (55 years), Nikhil Pandey (32 years), Naresh Kalusuva (18 years) and Lauram Bhagora (18 years), all from Baswada in Rajasthan, were killed after they were run over by a truck at Virar on the Mumbai-Gujarat highway. The migrant workers were walking home due to non-availability of any other means of communication due to the lockdown.[26]
On 28 March 2020, a migrant worker identified as Nitin Kumar (26 years) was killed in the Pakwarha area of Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh while walking from Sonipat, Haryana to his village in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh. Nitin Kumar, a shoe factory employee, had decided to walk home after the lockdown was announced and was hit by a private bus on the road.[27]
On 28 March 2020, a labourer identified as Shanu Kushwaha (35 years) died in Datia district of Madhya Pradesh after he was left untreated by a doctor who was a part of an ambulance service. According to an eye witness, Kushwaha was left on the Bhaguvapura bus stand as his health continued to deteriorate and called the ambulance. However, though the doctor came, he did not take Kushwaha to the hospital, after which Kushwaha died on the spot.[28]
On 29 March 2020, four persons of a migrant family, including women and two children, died after they were hit by a vehicle in Gurgaon, Haryana.[29]
On 30 March 2020, a migrant worker died while he was returning home to Jaipur, Rajasthan from Ahmedabad, Gujarat. He started vomiting blood when he reached Udaipur.[30]
On 31 March 2020, three migrant workers identified as Zubair Ahmed (18 years), Riyaz Ahmed (19 years) and Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din (30 years) lost their lives after they took a dangerous detour to reach their homes in Banihal post being denied passage through the Jawahar Tunnel in Jammu & Kashmir.[31]
On 16 April 2020, Netrapal (42 years), a migrant worker from Uttar Pradesh, died at a relief camp in Roorkee, Uttarakhand. His family alleged that he had stopped eating as he was given barely boiled rice, which he was unable to eat.[32]
On 18 April 2020, Jamlo Madkami, a 12-year-old girl died after walking about 100 km over three days through dense forest to reach her village in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh from Perur in Mulgu district of Telangana. She along with other migrant workers decided to travel to their home state following the lockdown.[33]
On 22 April 2020, two migrant workers from Bihar identified as Mukesh Yadav (45 years) and Tulsiram (35 years) were killed and one injured in a road accident on Agra-Lucknow expressway in Firozabad district, Uttar Pradesh. They were travelling on a motorbike.[34]
On 29 April 2020, Hari Prasad (26 years) a migrant worker, who had walked more than 100km from Bangalore, Karnataka to his village in Andhra Pradesh died due to exhaustion.[35]
On 30 April 2020, three migrant labourers identified as Vikram Singh, his wife Bhooli and Badrilal Banjara were crushed to death by a truck while they were asleep in Ujjain district, Madhya Pradesh. The deceased who had arrived from Rajasthan had decided to take rest due to fatigue when the truck driver lost control and crushed them.[36]
On 30 April 2020, three labourers belonging to a same family died in a road accident while they were on their way to Delhi on foot in the Madarak region of Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh.[37]
On 5 May 2020, one person died and 10 others were injured when a bus carrying around 40 migrant workers collided with a fruit-laden truck in Khurda district, Odisha. The migrant workers were on their way to their home state from Hyderabad, Telangana.[38]
On 8 May 2020, 16 migrant labourers died after they were run over by a good train after they had dozed off on a railway track at Satana village near Aurangabad after walking nearly 36 km from Jalna, Maharashtra where they used to work in a steel plant. They were on their way back to home in Madhya Pradesh by foot.[39]
On 9 May 2020, a migrant worker identified as Sagheer Ansari (26 years) died while he was on way to home in Bihar from Delhi in a cycle. He decided to left for home after he was rendered work.[40]
On 9 May 2020, five migrant labourers were killed and 13 others injured when a truck in which they were travelling overturned in Narsinghpur district, Madhya Pradesh.[41]
On 12 May 2020, a 32-year old migrant labourer died and 20 others were injured after the overloaded vehicle they were travelling met with an accident in Kamareddy district of Telangana. They were on their way home to Jharkhand.[42]
On 12 May 2020, a woman and her daughter, travelling thousands of kilometers to their villages were killed in separate road accidents in Uttar Pradesh. They were returning from Maharashtra.[43]
On 12 May 2020, Shiv Kumar Das, a 25-year-old migrant worker cycling home to Bihar was killed in Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh after he was hit by a car.[44]
On 12 May 2020, Mohan (40 years), a migrant labourer, was killed in Chitrakoot, Uttar Pradesh while returning from Chhattisgarh in a bicycle, which was hit by a truck.[45]
On 13 May 2020, a migrant worker from Bihar was killed and another injured after being hit by a speeding car in Haryana.[46]
On 13 May 2020, two migrant labourers and an infant girl were killed and 46 others suffered injuries in two road accidents when they were returning home in Uttar Pradesh from other states. The deceased were identified as Rohit (25 years), Hiraman (50 years) and Sumaiyya (2 years).[47]
In the intervening night of 13 and 14 May 2020, six migrant workers, who were walking to their homes in Bihar from Punjab, were killed and five others seriously injured when a speeding bus ran over them on the Delhi-Saharanpur highway in Muzaffarnagar district, Uttar Pradesh.[48]
On 13 May 2020, three migrant workers travelling from Gujarat to Uttar Pradesh were killed in a road accident in Barabanki district, while four others suffered serious injuries.[49]
On 13 May 2020, a migrant worker who was travelling from Maharashtra died after a truck he was travelling in lost control and overturned in Bahraich district, Uttar Pradesh. Thirty-two migrant workers also suffered serious injuries in the accident.[50]
On 13 May 2020, two migrant workers were killed in Jalaun district.[51]
On 16 May 2020, 27 migrant workers were killed and many were injured after a truck rammed into a DCM lorry they were travelling in Auraiya district in Uttar Pradesh. The migrant workers were on their way to their native places in different states including Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal.[52]
On 19 May 2020, two migrant workers were killed and over 20 were injured in four separate road accidents in Odisha.[53]
On 19 May 2020, 22 migrant workers were killed in separate road accidents in five states. These included nine in Bihar, four in Maharashtra, six in two separate accidents in Uttar Pradesh, one in Jharkhand, and two in as many incidents in Odisha.[54]
On 19 May 2020, nine migrant workers were killed when the truck, which was carrying iron poles, skidded off the road and fell into a ditch after the collision on NH-31 in Baghalpur district, Bihar. [55]
On 19 May 2020, three migrant labourers and a bus driver were killed and 22 others injured after their vehicle hit a stationary truck in Yavatmal district, Maharashtra. [56]
On 19 May 2020, three women migrant labourers were killed when a truck carrying labourers overturned on the Jhansi-Mirzapur highway in Mahoba district of Uttar Pradesh, while 17 others were injured. [57]
On 19 May 2020, three workers travelling in a car were killed when their vehicle rammed a stationary mini-truck in Azamgarh district, Uttar Pradesh. [58]
On 21 May 2020, three migrant labourers were killed when a bus carrying them collided with a truck at Nanghat near Bilaspur district in Chhattisgarh. They were travelling from Pune to Jharkhand.[59]
On 22 May 2020, nine migrant workers, including six of the same family, were found dead in an abandoned well on the outskirts of Warangal town in Telangana. The Police claimed that they were killed by a fellow migrant worker. The deceased were identified as Md Maqsood (55 years), his wife Nisha (48 years), sons Shahabad Alam (21 years) and Sohail Alam (18 years), daughter Bushra (20 years) and her three years old son Shoaib (all from the same family from West Bengal), Sriram (21 years) and Shyam (22 years) from Bihar, besides Shakil (30 years) from Tripura.[60]
On 22 May 2020, two migrant workers identified as Nizamuddin and Intezar returning to their village in Bijnor district from Surat, Gujarat were killed and at least a dozen others injured when a pick-up vehicle met with an accident in the Ahmedgarh area of Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh.[61]
On 22 May 2020, three migrant workers from Bihar were killed while another was seriously injured when their vehicle was hit by a truck near Basahi village under the Lalganj police station in Mirzapur district, Uttar Pradesh. Those killed were identified as Raju Singh (26 years), Saurav Kumar (23 years) and Amit Singh (26 years).[62]
On 24 May 2020, two migrant workers on their way to their home states died in Mahasamund district in Chhattisgarh. The deceased were from West Bengal and Odisha respectively. They died after their health deteriorated.[63]
On 28 May 2020, a 45-year-old migrant worker identified as Peer Ali who returned from Delhi died after reaching his village in Chitrakoot in Uttar Pradesh. The deceased worked as a security guard in Delhi and had hired a vehicle to return to his village along with his son. He fell unconscious as soon as he got down from the vehicle and died.[64]
2.2 Death of 81 migrants in Shramik Trains
The Hindustan Times reported 80 deaths on board the Shramik Special trains between May 9 and May 27[65] while the death of another person in Shramik train was reported after 27th May. Extreme heat, hunger and dehydration added to the woes of the migrant workers retuning home on these trains.
Some of the emblematic cases of deaths in the Shramik trains reported in the media are provided below:
On 12 May 2020, a 63-year-old cancer patient identified as Indu Devi died in the train on the way from Mumbai to Bihar.[66]
On the mind night of 22 May 2020, Naichinalyu Disang (23), a resident of Nagaland, who boarded the train from Gurugram in Haryana died on the train.[67]
On 24 May 2020, Rajendra Prasad (50), a resident of Unnao, died on the Lucknow-bound special train from Andhra Pradesh, and Munni Devi (80), a resident of Siwan district in Bihar, died onboard the special train going from Surat to Siwan.[68]
On 25 May 2020, a four-year-old boy identified as Mohammed Irshaad travelling in a Shramik train, died reportedly because of heat and hunger during the 39-hour journey from Delhi to Muzaffarpur. The boy’s father Pintu Alam had reportedly stated that his son asked for food and there was nothing that they could offer him.[69]
On 26 May 2020, a 58-year-old migrant identified as Bhushan Singh of Saran district in Bihar was found dead in the Surat-Hajipur train in Ballia in Uttar Pradesh.[70]
On 26 May 2020, Ram Awadh Chauhan (45) and another unidentified man were found dead on board the Jhansi-Goraphpur Shramik trains were found dead.[71]
On 26 May 2020, a 19-year-old from Jharkhand identified as Ashok Gope died on a Shramik train at Hatia station in Ranchi. He worked as a waiter in Goa.[72]
On 27 May 2002, Shobran Kumar (28), a resident of Janakpur, Nepal died at the district hospital at Balia in Uttar Pradesh. He was travelling in a special train from Madgaon to Darbangha when he fell sick during the journey and was admitted to the district hospital.[73]
On 27 May 2020, another passenger, Uresh Khatun from Katihar, died in her sleep while travelling in a Surat-Purnia train and her body was deboarded at Mansi, Bihar.[74]
On 27 May 2020, two migrants identified as Dashrath Prajapati (30), a resident of Jaunpur in UP and Ram Ratan (63), a resident of Azamgarh district were found dead when a Shramik train from Mumbai arrived in Varanasi. The train was running from Mumbai’s Lokmanya Tilak terminus to the Manduadih village in the Varanasi district.[75]
On 27 May 2020, a heartbreaking video clip surfaced online showing a toddler trying to wake her dead mother on a platform in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur station. The mother identified as Arvina Khatoon (26) died on a train back home. Khatoon, a resident of Katihar, had reportedly boarded the train from Ahmedabad on May 23 with her two sons aged three and one, and was accompanied by her brother-in-law Mohammad Wazir and sister.[76]
On 29 May 2020, a migrant labourer was found dead inside the toilet of a Shramik Special train when it was being cleaned out by railway staff at Jhansi station in Uttar Pradesh. The labourer had boarded the train for Gorakhpur about four days ago.[77]
3. Conclusion and recommendations
India decided to relax the conditions during the 5th lockdown considering economic considerations and not because the lockdown has reduced or contained the COVID-19. On 24th March, India had 564 confirmed cases with 10 deaths[78] and by 31 May, India’s COVID-19 cases increased to 182,142 cases with 89,995 active cases, 86,983 cured/discharged, 5,164 deaths and 1 migrated as per the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
A number of prominent public health and community medicine experts stated that “It is unrealistic to expect that COVID-19 pandemic can be eliminated at this stage given that community transmission is already well-established across large sections or sub-populations in the country.”[79]
Obviously COVID-19 cases are yet to peak in India and India will face serious challenges in the immediate future.
Unless the
Government of India is able to work out a national strategy with the full and
meaningful participation of all the States and Union Territories and the
opposition political parties by keeping aside electoral politics, COVID-19
shall have far more crippling effects than anticipated as the Singapore
Syndrome has spread the virus beyond India’s dormitories.
India further must also include epidemiologists
in decision making and ensure respect for human rights while tackling COVID-19
pandemic.
[1]. Migrant workers crowd Anand Vihar bus terminus to return to their villages, The Economic Times, 28 March 2020 at https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/migrant-workers-crowd-anand-vihar-bus-terminus-to-return-to-their-villages/articleshow/74863940.cms?from=mdr
[2]. MHA Order restricting movement of migrants and strict enforcement of lockdown measures – 29.03.2020 is available at https://www.mha.gov.in/sites/default/files/MHA%20Order%20restricting%20movement%20of%20migrants%20and%20strict%20enforement%20of%20lockdown%20measures%20-%2029.03.2020_0.pdf
[3]. Migrant crisis ‘fueling spread of virus in India’, Asia Times, 26 May 2020, https://asiatimes.com/2020/05/migrant-crisis-fueling-spread-of-virus-in-india/
[4]. Shramik means labourer.
[5] . Track surge: 40 per cent Shramik trains late, average delay 8 hours, Indian Express, 31 May 2020 https://indianexpress.com/article/india/40-per-cent-shramik-trains-late-average-delay-8-hours-6435111/
[6]. Coronavirus outbreak in India: Number of cases on March 24 and today, TimesNow, 20 April 2020, https://www.timesnownews.com/india/article/coronavirus-outbreak-in-india-number-of-cases-on-march-24-and-today/580204
[7]. Singapore contained Coronavirus. Could other countries learn from its approach?, World Economic Forum, 05 March 2020 https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/03/singapore-response-contained-coronavirus-covid19-outbreak/
[8]. Singapore Extends Partial Lockdown Till June 1 Due To Sharp Surge In COVID-19 Cases, Curlytales, https://curlytales.com/singapore-extends-partial-lockdown-till-june-due-to-sharp-surge-in-covid-cases/
[9] . Summary of Confirmed Cases, 27 May 2020 Ministry of Health, Singapore, https://www.moh.gov.sg/docs/librariesprovider5/pressroom/annex-a-27-may.pdf
[10]. ‘If more tests done, 70% would test +ve, The Times of India, 23 May 2020, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/if-more-tests-done-70-would-test-ve/articleshow/75904099.cms
[11]. Covid-19 death toll reaches 20 in Bihar; tally soars to 3,565 with 206 fresh cases, Hindustan Times, 31 May 2020; https://www.hindustantimes.com/patna/covid-19-death-toll-reaches-20-in-bihar-tally-soars-to-3-565-with-206-fresh-cases/story-hcnfXGm8GoJFsgzl1P0enI.html
[12]. Covid-19 cases in North-East double from 100 to past 200 in just 4 days, Hindustan Times, 10 May 2020, https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/covid-19-cases-in-north-east-double-from-100-to-past-200-in-just-4-days/story-iQliVrMGLlVgISGdG3LjaL.html
[13]. Northeast states witness a spike in COVID-19 cases, The New Indian Express, 17 May 2020, https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2020/may/17/northeast-states-witness-a-spike-in-covid-19-cases-2144573.html
[14]. Tripura records 280 Covid-19 positive cases with 11 fresh cases, all returnees from Chennai, Hindustan Times, 31 May 2020, https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/tripura-records-280-covid-19-positive-cases-with-11-fresh-cases-all-returnees-from-chennai/story-RS6LCz2nFbCRES9zyZsvzO.html
[15]. https://twitter.com/himantabiswa
[16]. COVID19 STATEWISE STATUS, https://www.mygov.in/corona-data/covid19-statewise-status/
[17]. Ibid
[18]. Nagaland COVID-19 tally goes up to 43 with seven new cases, Northeast Now, 31 May 2020, https://nenow.in/north-east-news/nagaland/nagaland-covid-19-tally-goes-up-to-43-with-seven-new-cases.html
[19]. Assam sees biggest single day surge in Covid-19 cases at 159, tally breaches 1200-mark, Hindustan Times, 31 May 2020, https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/assam-sees-biggest-single-day-surge-in-covid-19-cases-at-159-tally-breaches-1200-mark/story-VhrX16OB2N57p8DHgbGbEO.html
[20]. Coronavirus India Update, May 25: Cases near 1.40 lakh; lockdown extended till June 30 in Himachal’s 2 districts, The Indian Express, 25 May 2020, https://indianexpress.com/article/india/coronavirus-india-update-may-25-delhi-maharashtra-tamil-nadu-6426165/
[21]. Tripura records 280 Covid-19 positive cases with 11 fresh cases, all returnees from Chennai, Hindustan Times, 31 May 2020, https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/tripura-records-280-covid-19-positive-cases-with-11-fresh-cases-all-returnees-from-chennai/story-RS6LCz2nFbCRES9zyZsvzO.html
[22]. ‘Taking unprecedented steps’: Centre to Supreme Court on migrant workers, The Hindustan Times, 28 May 2020, https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/91-lakh-migrants-moved-till-date-centre-tells-supreme-court/story-BUpylAQf3oZy1HvWxK2wYO.html
[23]. Coronavirus: With 17 migrant workers dead, lockdown and not Covid-19 claims 20 lives, The Telegraph, 30 March 2020, https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/coronavirus-with-17-migrant-workers-dead-lockdown-and-not-covid-19-claims-20-lives/cid/1760595
[24]. Hyderabad: Eight migrants returning home killed in road accident, The Indian Express, 28 March 2020, https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/hyderabad/india-lockdown-hyderabad-migrant-labourers-accident-6335807/
[25]. Coronavirus: With 17 migrant workers dead, lockdown and not Covid-19 claims 20 lives, The Telegraph, 30 March 2020, https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/coronavirus-with-17-migrant-workers-dead-lockdown-and-not-covid-19-claims-20-lives/cid/1760595
[26]. Ibid
[27]. Ibid
[28]. Hunger, accidents and apathy killed migrants walking back home amid the Covid-19 lockdown, 2 April 2020, https://sabrangindia.in/article/hunger-accidents-and-apathy-killed-migrants-walking-back-home-amid-covid-19-lockdown
[29]. Coronavirus: With 17 migrant workers dead, lockdown and not Covid-19 claims 20 lives, The Telegraph, 30 March 2020
[30]. Hunger, accidents and apathy killed migrants walking back home amid the Covid-19 lockdown, 2 April 2020, https://sabrangindia.in/article/hunger-accidents-and-apathy-killed-migrants-walking-back-home-amid-covid-19-lockdown
[31]. Ibid
[32]. Migrant Worker Dies In Roorkee Relief Camp; Family Alleges He Was Starving, The Outlook 19 April 2020, https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/india-news-migrant-worker-dies-in-roorkee-relief-camp-family-alleges-he-was-starving/351071
[33]. 12-yr-old migrant worker dies after walking 100km, The Hindustan Times, 20 April 2020, https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/12-yr-old-migrant-worker-dies-after-walking-100km/story-8LHJHm2F61mDJZXqGd4SGP.html
[34]. Two migrant workers from Bihar killed in road accident, The Times of India, 22 April 2020, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/agra/two-migrant-workers-from-bihar-killed-in-road-accident/articleshowprint/75303663.cms
[35]. Death after walk home, The Telegraph, 2 May 2020, https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/coronavirus-lockdown-death-after-walk-home/cid/1769671
[36]. Three Migrant Labourers Crushed To Death Barely 1 Km From, 30 April 2020, https://thelogicalindian.com/latest-news/migrant-workers-die-accident-20848
[37]. Workers reach Aligarh on foot from Delhi, three killed in road accident, The Amar Ujala, 30 April 2020, https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=hi&u=https://www.amarujala.com/uttar-pradesh/aligarh/three-migrant-workers-returning-from-delhi-died-in-a-road-accident-in-aligarh&prev=search
[38]. One dead after bus carrying migrant workers hits truck in Odisha’s Khurda, The Hindustan Times, 5 May 2020, https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/one-dead-after-bus-carrying-migrant-workers-hits-truck-in-odisha-s-khurda/story-qpSmw4x0ixRpXyh82e1VhO.html
[39]. Maharashtra: 16 die as train runs over tired migrants sleeping on tracks, The Times of India, 9 May 2020, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/16-die-as-train-runs-over-tired-migrants-sleeping-on-tracks/articleshowprint/75636960.cms
[40]. Coronavirus lockdown | Car runs over migrant worker on his way home to Bihar by bicycle, The Hindu, 10 May 2020, https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/coronavirus-lockdown-migrant-cycling-back-to-bihar-dies-after-being-hit-by-car-in-lucknow/article31550623.ece
[41]. Six Migrant Workers Walking on Highway Killed by Bus in UP’s Muzaffarnagar, The Wire, 14 May 2020, https://thewire.in/rights/migrant-workers-killed-lockdown-bus-up-muzaffarnagar
[42]. One migrant worker dies, 20 injured in road accident in Telangana, 12 May 2020, https://in.news.yahoo.com/one-migrant-worker-dies-20-150752907.html
[43]. 4 Migrants, Headed Home, Killed In Accidents. Mother-Daughter Among Them, The NDTV, 13 May 2020, https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/coronavirus-lockdown-migrant-worker-from-bihar-killed-after-being-hit-by-speeding-car-in-ambala-haryana-another-injured-2227202
[44]. Ibid
[45]. Three migrant workers, infant girl returning home during lockdown killed in two road accidents in Uttar Pradesh, 46 others injured, The Firstpost, 13 May 2020, https://www.firstpost.com/india/three-migrant-workers-infant-girl-returning-home-during-lockdown-killed-in-two-road-accidents-in-uttar-pradesh-46-others-injured-8363861.html
[46]. 4 Migrants, Headed Home, Killed In Accidents. Mother-Daughter Among Them, The NDTV, 13 May 2020
[47]. Three migrant workers, infant girl returning home during lockdown killed in two road accidents in Uttar Pradesh, 46 others injured, The Firstpost, 13 May 2020
[48]. Six Migrant Workers Walking on Highway Killed by Bus in UP’s Muzaffarnagar, The Wire, 14 May 2020, https://thewire.in/rights/migrant-workers-killed-lockdown-bus-up-muzaffarnagar
[49]. 6 Migrant Workers Killed In 3 Separate Accidents In UP, The NDTV, 14 May 2020, https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/coronavirus-india-lockdown-6-migrant-workers-killed-in-3-separate-accidents-in-up-2229091
[50]. Ibid
[51]. Ibid
[52]. UP crash toll goes up with one death, The Telegraph, 20 May 2020, https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/west-bengal/coronavirus-lockdown-up-crash-toll-goes-up-with-one-death/cid/1774452
[53]. 2 migrants workers killed, over 20 injured in road accidents in Odisha, The Hindustan Times, 20 May 2020, https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/2-migrants-workers-killed-over-20-injured-in-road-accidents-in-odisha/story-eb28JLgIorC4QI70rTg5FO.html
[54]. 22 migrant workers killed in road accidents across 5 states, The Hindustan Times, 20 May 2020, https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/22-migrant-workers-killed-in-road-accidents-across-5-states/story-LtPzB20mKFUtXdke8El6bK.html
[55]. Ibid
[56]. Ibid
[57]. Ibid
[58]. Ibid
[59]. Three migrants die in road accident in Chhattisgarh, The New Indian Express, 22 May 2020, https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2020/may/22/three-migrants-die-in-road-accident-in-chhattisgarh-2146487.html
[60]. 9 migrants found dead in Telangana’s Warangal killed by fellow worker: Cops, The Hindustan Times, 25 May 2020, https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/9-migrants-found-dead-in-telangana-s-warangal-killed-by-fellow-worker-cops/story-KFy5NDVxVc5TkQN8W4yEpJ.html
[61]. Two migrant workers killed in road accident near Bulandshahr, 22 May 2020, https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/two-migrant-workers-killed-in-road-accident-near-bulandshahr/article31649783.ece
[62]. 3 migrant workers from Bihar’s Gopalganj killed, 1 seriously hurt in road accident in UP’s Mirzapur, The 22 May 2020, https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2020/may/22/3-migrant-workers-from-bihars-gopalganj-killed-1-seriously-hurt-in-road-accident-in-ups-mirzapur-2146686.html
[63]. Two migrant workers die in Chhattisgarh’s Mahsamund while heading home, The Hindustan Times, 25 May 2020, https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/two-migrant-workers-die-in-chhattisgarh-s-mahsamund-while-heading-home/story-9DfMyukd9Xby1K8uXl8MqI.html
[64]. Migrant worker dies after return from Delhi in UP”s Chitrakoot, Outlook, 29 May 2020, https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/migrant-worker-dies-after-return-from-delhi-in-ups-chitrakoot/1849674
[65]. Railway Protection Force reports 80 deaths on Shramik trains, The Hindustan Times, 30 May 2020, https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/railway-protection-force-reports-80-deaths-on-shramik-trains/story-psJl3EenY4B0uUYMRvkChL.html
[66]. Ailing passengers among 81 dead on Shramik Specials, The Times of India, 31 May 2020, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/76114685.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
[67]. Naga girl dies on train en-route to Nagaland from Haryana, Eastmojo, 23 May 2020, https://www.eastmojo.com/nagaland/2020/05/23/naga-girl-dies-on-train-en-route-to-nagaland-from-haryana
[68]. 3 onboard Shramik Special trains dead, sample of one taken for Covid-19 testing, Hindustan Times, 24 May 2020, https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/3-onboard-shramik-special-trains-dead-sample-of-one-taken-for-covid-19-testing/story-n8dNjRQHBTBcVuOP0H9ZpM.html
[69]. On way home, nine dead in Shramik Specials in 48 hours, Indian Express, 28 May 2020, https://indianexpress.com/article/india/coronavirus-india-lockdown-on-way-home-nine-dead-in-shramik-specials-in-48-hrs-6430401/
[70]. Migrant crisis: Nine deaths reported on board Shramik Special trains since Monday, Business Today, 28 May 2020, https://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/migrant-crisis-nine-deaths-reported-on-board-shramik-special-trains-since-monday/story/405166.html
[71]. UP: Three migrant workers found dead on Shramik trains, The Outlook, 27 May 2020, https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/up-three-migrant-workers-found-dead-on-shramik-trains/1847992
[72]. Avreena Khatoon to Vinod Kumar: The 16 migrants on trains who’ll never make it home, The New Indian Express, 29 May 2020, https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2020/may/29/avreena-khatoon-to-vinod-kumar-the-16-migrants-on-trains-wholl-never-make-it-home-2149385.html
[73]. UP: Three migrant workers found dead on Shramik trains, The Outlook, 27 May 2020, https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/up-three-migrant-workers-found-dead-on-shramik-trains/1847992
[74]. At Least 10 Migrants On Board Shramik Special Trains Died Since Monday, Railways Says Most Of Them Were Patients, Dailyhunt, 28 May 2020, https://m.dailyhunt.in/news/africa/english/the+logical+indian-epaper-tlogin/at+least+10+migrants+on+board+shramik+special+trains+died+since+monday+railways+says+most+of+them+were+patients-newsid-n187509222
[75]. 2 migrants found dead on Shramik Train from Mumbai to Varanasi, India Today, 27 May 2020, https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/2-migrants-found-dead-on-shramik-train-from-mumbai-to-varanasi-1682607-2020-05-27
[76]. On way home, nine dead in Shramik Specials in 48 hours, The Indian Express, 28 May 2020, https://indianexpress.com/article/india/coronavirus-india-lockdown-on-way-home-nine-dead-in-shramik-specials-in-48-hrs-6430401/
[77]. Breaking News May 29 Live Updates: Migrant labourer found dead in toilet of Shramik Special, India Today, 29 May 2020, https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/breaking-news-may-29-live-updates-coronavirus-cases-deaths-locust-attack-gdp-numbers-us-donald-trump-china-1683080-2020-05-29
[78]. Coronavirus outbreak in India: Number of cases on March 24 and today, TimesNow, 20 April 2020, https://www.timesnownews.com/india/article/coronavirus-outbreak-in-india-number-of-cases-on-march-24-and-today/580204
[79]. Experts criticise Covid handling: Community transmission has set in, Indian Express, 31 May 2020 https://indianexpress.com/article/india/experts-criticise-covid-handling-community-transmission-has-set-in-6435172/
