The heartrending image of a child sleeping while hung on a trolley bag that was being pulled by his migrant mother has caught the attention of National Human Rights Commission which has taken suo motu cognizance and issued notices to the Chief Secretaries of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh and the District Magistrate, Agra, Uttar Pradesh. The commission has sought a detailed report on the action being taken against the responsible officers and the relief being provided to the victim families within a period of four weeks.
In the picture and a video that has gone viral, an exhausted woman is seen dragging her bag on a highway in Uttar Pradesh’s Agra. Her son, around four to five years, worn out by an arduous journey, sleeps on the suitcase. They had completed two-third of their 800 km-long journey from Punjab.
The 38-second video of the woman — a migrant labourer — and her son has gone viral. The mother says, in the clip, she has been heading towards her hometown Jhansi that is around 230 km away from Agra. She is among a group of labourers who have been returning from Punjab on foot in the absence of any means of transport. A passer by, presumably the person who shot the video, is heard asking her where they were going and why they were not taking a bus.
The Commission observed that “it is aware of the unprecedented situation and that the Central and the State governments are working sincerely to address every issue coming up during the lockdown but it is strange that the pain of the child and the family could be seen and felt by many enroute, except the local authorities. Had the local authorities been vigilant, some relief could immediately be provided to the aggrieved family and others facing the similar hardships. The incident amounts to violation of human rights and requires intervention by the NHRC.”
The Commission condemning the carelessness and inappropriate approach of the local public authorities who do not bother to come forward to see the ground reality has referred to another incident where it took suo motu cognizance of the matter where a migrant labourer after delivering her baby on road continued her journey within two hours on her way to Madhya Pradesh from Maharashtra.
-India Legal Bureau
Pic Credit: Twitter