Thousands of migrant workers from northern states were seen scrambling to board buses to get home at the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border on Satu...
Thousands of migrant workers from northern states were seen scrambling to board buses to get home at the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border on Saturday as a nationwide lockdown due to the coronavirus stripped them of livelihoods and shelter.
The Uttar Pradesh government had arranged for nearly 1,200 special buses after distressing images emerged of exhausted workers marching home in the absence of any public transportation. However, the buses made available on Saturday were too few – there were 10,000 to 15,000 people at the Anand Vihar bus depot at 9.30 pm, and only 60 to 70 buses, Shahdara Deputy Commissioner of Police Dinesh Kumar Gupta told PTI. More than 500 more buses were due to reach by midnight, he said.
There was a stampede-like situation at some points, with Delhi Police officers on standby carrying lathis and loudspeakers.
The nationwide lockdown entered its fifth day on Saturday. Here are some scenes from the Anand Vihar in Delhi and the Kaushambi bus station in Ghaziabad on the other side of the border:
Videos on social media showed huge crowds scrambling to board buses amid the looming threat of spread of infection.
#WATCH Huge number of migrant workers at Delhi's Anand Vihar bus terminal, to board buses to their respective home...
