As fate had it, over 20 migrant labourers were killed and many were injured after a truck they were travelling in met with an accident in Auraiya of Uttar Pradesh early Saturday, news agency ANI reported.

“The incident took place at around 3:30 am. Twenty-three people have died and around 15-20 have suffered injuries. Most of them are from Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal,” Abhishek Singh, Auraiya’s district magistrate, was quoted as saying by ANI.

Reportedly, the injured have been shifted to hospital. The labourers were coming from Rajasthan, it said.

Tens of thousands of individuals are walking home from big cities after being laid off due to the lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) since late March.

Millions of workers were left without work across cities and towns in India when the lockdown was announced on March 24, leading to the primary wave of workers going back to their villages.

The lockdown was extended twice, from April 14 to May 3 then May 3 to May 17 and every phase has witnessed displacement wave of mostly ‘atmanirbhar’ migrants.

Migrant death is gradually setting a fated trend as 15 migrant workers on their way back home were killed in three accidents, one each in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar earlier in the week.

A week before on May 8, 16 workers sleeping on tracks were run over by a goods train in Maharashtra’s Aurangabad district. Five workers were killed in Madhya Pradesh’s Narsinghpur district when the truck they were travelling hit the central verge of the road.

Reportedly, police have also divulged that 100 were also injured in road accidents across States on Thursday, as migrant workers still resort to rides on trucks, cycle, or simply walk on the country’s highways in the struggle to reach home.

Starting May Day, the government announced special trains for migrant workers, but there are still far too few of the workers don't have the documentation required to travel; others haven't registered for the trains or buses being run.