Rs 1L aid for kin of Chhattisgarh girl who died during walk back home from Telangana

Chief minister Bhupesh Baghel has announced a compensation of Rs 1 lakh to the family of a 12-year-old girl who died in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur after walking about a hundred kilometres over three days through dense forests to reach her village during the nationwide lockdown.

A press release issued by the state government said on Tuesday the family members of Jamlo Madkami will get the financial assistance from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.

“The tragic death of 12-year-old-girl Jamlo Madkam of Bijapur is heartbreaking. In this difficult time, as an immediate help, I give Rs 1 lakh from the CM Relief Fund and Rs 4 lakh from the voluntary grant. Bijapur Collector has been instructed to investigate the matter & report,” the CM tweeted.

Madkami, who went to Perur in Telangana’s Mulgu district along with 13 migrant workers to pluck chilly, died in the jungle after reaching Chhattisgarh on April 18. She was about 50 kilometers from her village. Madkami and the others, including her uncle, began their long walk back home on April 15.

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Bijapur collector KD Kunjam said the girl’s post-mortem was done on Monday and the body was handed over to the family.

“On April 20, after the report of the blood sample sent to Jagdalpur Medical College was found negative for the coronavirus, post-mortem was done by the district hospital in Bijapur. The body of the deceased was handed over of family members,” said the press release.

On Monday, Bijapur chief medical health officer (CMHO) RS Pujari said electrolyte imbalance could have caused the girl’s death though he pointed out that the exact reason could not be ascertained immediately.

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“Since she travelled on difficult terrains for three days, she could be facing muscle fatigue which could led to some imbalance. Secondly, as per the people who were walking with her, she fell from a hillock and sustained injuries also,” Pujari added.

An official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said hundreds of workers have returned to their homes on foot from Telangana through dense forests since the lockdown was imposed in March and extended last week until May 3.

“The forest routes are surrounded by Maoist-affected areas. Hence no one can monitor their movement,” said a police official involved in anti-Maoist operations, who did not want to be named.

The lockdown triggered an exodus of migrant workers from bigger cities in March as tens of thousands of them left jobless because of the curbs imposed to check the spread of Covid-19 pandemic began leaving for their homes on foot. This prompted the Centre to direct the states and Union territories to seal their borders and ensure the migrant workers are taken care of in shelter homes.