Madhya Pradesh: Migrant on way to Mandla dies on train

BHOPAL: Yet another migrant labourer lost his life while travelling home. A resident of Mandla district, Akhilesh was on way home from Kerala, when he started vomiting onboard the Mangaldeep Express.
An FIR was lodged by the GRP in Itarsi and a post-mortem was also performed.
Still in his teens, the deceased, Akhilesh, had boarded the train from Ernakulam along with six other migrants.
One of the many tribal migrants from Mandla and Dindori districts, who were stuck in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, Akhilesh worked as a labourer, plucking cloves and cardamoms, said Natayan Singh Patta, an MLA from Bichia. Akhilesh was a resident of a village of his constituency. On learning about Akhilesh’s death, Patta arranged for a vehicle that carried his body from Itarsi to Mandla on Thursday.
Despite efforts, no Shramik express could start from Kerala to bring the labourers stuck in the south Indian state, said Vivek Pawar of Jan Sangharsh Morcha, an organisation working among the weaker sections in Mandla.
Over 500 labourers returned home when the trains started operating after the lockdown, he said. They arranged for their own tickets, he said.
They returned home in batches as and when they got reservations and as they waited for a mode of travel, the money they had earned started getting over
As the reservation was obtained with great difficulty, Akhilesh decided to travel despite his ill health.
Vivek said that some tribal women are still stuck in Andhra Pradesh where they work at a poultry farm.