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Political row after migrant worker dies in Karnataka
Bengaluru A political controversy has broken out in Karnataka over the death of a woman migrant worker who walked 240km under the scorching sun to get back home.
Bengaluru A political controversy has broken out in Karnataka over the death of a woman migrant worker who walked 240km under the scorching sun to get back home.
Gangamma, a resident of Sindhanur taluk in north Karnataka’s Raichur district, worked as a labourer in Bengaluru but lost her job when the nationwide lockdown was clamped on March 25, said a district administration official. Along with many other migrant labourers, she boarded a tractor heading to Raichur district on March 30 but the vehicle was stopped at the Tumakuru toll gate, roughly 240km from her native district, the official added.
Gangamma, along with the other workers, decided to walk to their villages from the toll gate but were again stopped by police near Bellary town, where the local police took them to a rehabilitation centre on April 2. By then, Gangamma had walked for hours under the searing sun with little food and water, and she fell ill. She passed away at the Vijaynagar Institute of Medical Sciences on April 5, the official added.
The state government condoled her death and announced compensation for her family. “ In lockdown circumstances woman Gangamma who was walked to her native place has passed away. This is very unfortunate and painful. We are investigating the matter and I have directed officials to provide compensation to her family,” chief minister BS Yediyurappa tweeted.
But the Opposition blamed the state administration for the death. Senior Congress leader and former Bellary MP VS Ugrappa condemned the government’s role in providing food and essentials for the poor. “It is unfortunate that this woman had to die due to hunger. There is huge gap between what the government has announced on paper and implementation on the ground. Banging vessels and lighting lamps will not fill hungry stomachs. The state government has failed in its responsibility.”
Bellary district information officer Ramalingappa denied that the woman died due to hunger. “She had walked all the way from Tumkur and was ill. We provided all facilities to her including food and when she became sick, was admitted to the hospital. It is unfortunate that she passed away.”
