Migrant clutches baby, climbs overcrowded truck: Story behind image

Battling lockdown, hunger, and the coronavirus pandemic, migrants from across the country are making desperate attempts to reunite with their loved ones and go back home.

Some never survived to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and the struggles for others don’t seem to end.

Even as the government is operating special trains and making arrangements for migrants to return to their natives, visuals of their desperate bid to get back home have left the people teary-eyed.

From 16 migrant labourers being crushed under a train in their sleep in Maharashtra to scores of people walking thousands of kilometres, these heartbreaking stories have taken the internet by storm.

Related news: 7 homebound migrants killed in separate accidents in North India since Monday

One such photograph that went viral was from Chhattisgarh where a large group of migrant workers are scrambling to get into an already-overcrowded truck with their children.

In a 20-second video, a man is seen holding an infant with one hand and trying to climb the truck by holding on to a rope with another. The clip also shows a woman in saree struggling to climb the vehicle, handing over her baby to a labourer on the truck.

heart-breaking picture showing a man holding an infant in one hand as he clings on to a rope hanging on the vehicle with another in raipur @ndtvindia @ndtv #NursesDay #LockdownEnd #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/F4YhUWLyA0

— Anurag Dwary (@Anurag_Dwary) May 12, 2020

These visuals once again highlighted the tragedy of migrants and their families, without food, shelter, or jobs, amid the prolonged nationwide lockdown imposed in view to curb the spread of the high contagious coronavirus.

Some labourers revealed that they couldn’t find a way to go back home so they decided to hitch a ride on a truck. They also said that the information regarding special trains was not available with them to reach their destination.