UP shocker! Migrant workers sprayed with ‘chemical solution’ in Bareilly

In a shocking incident, migrant labourers returning to their native places were sprayed with chemicals by officials in Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly district. A video footage of the same has gone viral on social media where a group of migrants, including women and children, with their luggages strapped onto their shoulders and wearing clothes were being sprayed with a solution through a hose pipe by officials in full protection gear. 

Following a public outcry against the act on social media, the district magistrate of Bareilly tweeted that the migrants were being treated under orders from the CMO and action would be taken against the officials involved. "This video has been investigated. The affected people are being treated under the direction of the CMO. The team of Bareilly Municipal Corporation and Fire Brigade were given instructions to sanitise the buses. But they were overzealous. Instructions have been given to take action against the concerned," tweeted Bareilly district magistrate. 

Bareilly is about 270 kms from UP capital Lucknow. The migrants had reportedly returned to UP over the weekend on special buses arranged for them. As the migrants were being sprayed, an officer can be heard instructing: "Close your eyes. Close the eyes of the children."

While there is lack of official clarity on the sanitiser solution used, several media, citing officials, reported that the migrants were sprayed with a solution of chlorine and water. 

"We did not mean to be inhuman... It was important to sanitise everyone and there was a huge rush as a large number of people had returned. So we did what we thought was best," the official was quoted as saying. 

The video of the disinfection process has invited criticism from various quarters, including Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. “Please do not do such inhuman acts. The workers have already suffered a lot. Do not bathe them like this by adding chemicals. This will not save them but will create more threats to their health,” Priyanka tweeted in Hindi.

Former UP chief minister and BSP supremo Mayawati too, condemned the incident. “Punishing migrant labourers by spraying insecticides in Bareilly in UP is cruelty and inhumane. The government should pay immediate attention,” she tweeted. 

Over the weekend, India witnessed mass exodus as scores of migrant workers left for their natives in villages as urban centres were nearly shut down to contain the coronavirus pandemic. According to government estimates, close to 300,000 migrant workers have breached the lockdown and hit the roads.