Walking from Ludhiana to Hardoi, migrant dies

LUCKNOW: A 19-year-old Vipin Kumar, who worked at a shop in Ludhiana, had embarked on a long journey to his home in Sursa, Hardoi on foot on May 12.
But walking continuously for six days without food and covering over 350 kilometres he finally fell on the road near Saharanpur. An ambulance spotted him lying on the road and shifted him to a district hospital. But he could not be saved. Doctors said he died of hunger.
Despite the fact that both the Central and state governments have started special trains and buses to ferry migrants to their native places, heart-breaking images continue to capture the misery of these workers.
For the family of Vipin, the news of his death came as a severe blow as he was the sole bread earner. His mother Shakuntala turned numbed by the shock. She still waits for her son to reach home.
Vipin’s father Girwar said that on May 12 Vipin had informed them on phone that he was returning home.
“We were hoping that he would reach soon. But destiny has something else in store for us. Vipin had no option but to walk down home. How long he could wait for government transport to reach home,” Girwar said adding that he used to send Rs 8,000 to them every month.
“My elder son Raj Kumar is physically not fit to do any work. Now, we have no option but to beg for food,” he lamented.
Girwar said that somebody from a Saharanpur hospital informed him about Vipin's condition on Monday night. “Next day, I got a call from a Meerut hospital that Vipin had died due to hunger,” he said.
Station house officer, Sursa ,Raj Karan said that on hearing the news of demise of Vipin villagers collected money for the family on Wednesday so that they could reach Meerut to take their son's body.