Lockdown: Three labourers slip to death in J&K while walking back home

Three labourers slipped to death at Hinjhal Top in the Pir Panchal range of mountains on Wednesday when they were walking back from Kashmir to their homes in Banihal area of Jammu region amid the COVID-19 lockdown.

Police said another person was injured when the group of labourers returning back to Banihal through Verinag slipped on a glacier. “All three bodies have been recovered and moved to sub-district hospital Banihal, while the injured is being treated,” Superintendent of Police, Ramban, Haseeb-ur-Rehman told DH.

Reports said after another three labourers travelling on the same route had safely reached their homes in Banihal, the family members of the missing labourers became alert and informed the police.

Soon, a search operation consisting of the police, volunteers and army was launched and dead bodies were recovered on Wednesday, they said. Officials said hundreds of labourers who have been stranded in various parts of J&K, braving inclement weather, are traveling by foot to reach their destinations.

Last Saturday, a group of 25 labourers returned to Poonch area in Jammu by foot from Kashmir, trekking 100-Km over the snow-covered high altitude passes for two days.

Hit by a sudden 21-day lockdown and no transport, thousands of migrant labourers from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and other states are walking for days to reach their homes from the Delhi-NCR region and Gujarat, about 200 to 300 Km away. And some elsewhere are trying to make the desperate journey crammed inside container trucks.