Tamil Nadu CM Palaniswami appeals migrants to not travel after tragic Auraiya accident

Amid the nationwide migrant exodus from urban areas to native places, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami appealed migrant workers not to embark on a journey to their home States on foot or by any other means of transportation. His message comes after the tragic incident on Saturday morning where a truck collided with a container truck in Uttar Pradesh's Auraiya killing as many as 24 migrant workers and injuring several others. 

Taking to Twitter, Palaniswami said, "I was deeply disturbed to hear the news that about 21 people were killed in a lorry accident in Uttar Pradesh's Auraiya district. My deepest condolences to the families of those who died in this tragedy!"

உத்திரப்பிரதேசம் - அவுரியா மாவட்டத்தில் புலம்பெயர் தொழிலாளர்களை ஏற்றிச் சென்ற லாரி விபத்துக்குள்ளாகி சுமார் 21 நபர்கள் உயிரிழந்துள்ளனர் என்ற செய்தியை அறிந்து மிகுந்த மனவேதனை அடைந்தேன்.

இக்கோரவிபத்தில் உயிரிழந்தவர்களின் குடும்பத்தினருக்கு எனது ஆழ்ந்த இரங்கல் மற்றும் அனுதாபங்கள்! pic.twitter.com/oQHMETJZhn

— Edappadi K Palaniswami (@CMOTamilNadu)

READ | Auraiya Accident: AAP MP Sanjay Singh Slams Centre Over Lack Of Facilities For Migrants

Stay in camps, travel to be arranged

In another tweet, the CM said, "Since Tamil Nadu is making necessary arrangements to cover travel expenses for migrant workers who wish to travel to their own States, I urge the workers here not to walk on foot or travel by other vehicles and stay in the camps until then."

READ | UP Govt To Seize Vehicles Illegally Ferrying Migrants, To Slap Case Against Owners

Migrants sent back

So far, 55,473 migrant laborers have been sent to Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, and northeastern states through 43 trains from Tamil Nadu. On a daily average, 10,000 migrant laborers are being sent to their homes from the southern state. Tamil Nadu has the second-highest tally of COVID-19 cases in India (10,108) but has some of the lowest fatalities with just 71 deaths. The number of those recovered is 2,599.

READ | Tamil Nadu All Set To Boost Business; Industries & Businesses Willing To Relocate: CM

READ | Tamil Nadu: Liquor Shops To Open; Colour Coded Tokens For Crowd Management At Outlets