Migrants Near Madhya Pradesh-Maharashtra Border Protest Over Food, Throw Stones At Cops

Thousands of migrant workers in Sendhwa, located on Madhya Pradesh-Maharashtra border, resorted to violence on Thursday, May 14, alleging that Madhya Pradesh government has made no arrangement of food or transportation for them. Police stationed at the spot were allegedly attacked with stones.

"People here are travelling with month-old babies. The Maharashtra government sent us till here, but the MP government is extending no help to us. We have been here since last night, hungry and thirsty. No one cares about us," NDTV quoted Sailesh Tripathi, a resident of Madhya Pradesh, who works in Pune, as saying. The man is bound for Satna.

District Collector Amit Tomar, said the stone-pelting took place "as some migrants felt after the buses left, there would not be any more vehicles for those left behind, but we reassured them and calmed them down".

He added that the migrants were sent to transit points in different districts in 135 buses from the border.

The administration is providing facilities like "food, water, shelter to labourers who are coming in their own vehicles or through other conveyances and providing facility of buses to others who are entering Madhya Pradesh walking from Maharashtra's border," the official added.

For migrant labourers from Maharashtra taking the road to go to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, Sendhwa is a crucial stop. Thousands of migrants pour in every day to take buses and trucks for their journey.

The administration claimed that more than 15,000 labourers have been served food at Sendhwa.

Appealing to the labourers to be patient, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that all of them will be transported free of cost by buses after medical checkups and a meal.

Also Read: 8 Migrant Labourers Killed After Truck Collides With Bus In Madhya Pradesh