COVID-19 lockdown: Child labourer dies 20 km away from Chhattisgarh after walking for three days

HYDERABAD:  A 12-year-old Muria tribe girl, who was working as a labourer in the border areas of Mulugu district, set out on a long walk back home to Bijapur in Chhattisgarh. She died of exhaustion on April 18,  just 10km from her home. With the lockdown having been extended, the group comprising 11 other women and children decided to walk 100 km to reach their hometown.

ALSO READ| Migrant workers may have travelled through forest to reach home

However, the arduous journey on foot ended in a tragedy as the exhausted girl breathed her last before reaching her home. The Bijapur district administration said that the girl and the group had left for Telangana from Aded village on February 2 to pick chillies. Owing to lockdown-related constraints and distress, the group started walking back to their hometown on April 15.

"They walked nearly 100 km across the forest area and entered the district near Bhandarpal. At Bhandarpal, they had food after which the child complained of stomachache. Her condition quickly deteriorated and she died on the spot.

The group was just 10 to 15 km short of their villages in Aded and so they carried the body. The matter was reported to the administration and the Medical Health Officer rushed them to hospital," informed a senior police official from Bijapur.  

Mulugu administration launches special probe

The officials are yet to ascertain the cause of girl’s death as they are yet to receive the medical reports. Back in Mulugu, the administration has launched a special investigation into the circumstances that led to the girl leaving the district.

"Preliminary reports suggest that she worked in the farm at Peruru village or in Kannayagudam area. We have formed two teams of tahsildars and of District Child Protection Units to find out the land owner who employed them," said Mulugu District Collector S Krishna Aditya.

The officials are also looking at the possibility of filing a police complaint under the Child Labour Act and Juvenile Justice Act as the girl was not accompanied by her parents and was employed. Since she belonged to the Muria tribe of Chhattisgarh, other relevant sections may also be added