Infant in nomadic group dies amid coronavirus lockdown in Assam

The 40 stranded nomads had reached Rangiya, a major railway junction around 65 km northwest of Guwahati, to catch a train after believing that the lockdown would be lifted on April 14

An infant among a group of 40 stranded nomads from Rajasthan died in western Assam’s Chirang district reportedly because of hardships endured due to the coronavirus lockdown.

Officials said the group had been in north-central Assam’s Sonitpur district when the lockdown was imposed. They had reached Rangiya, a major railway junction around 65 km northwest of Guwahati, to catch a train after believing that the lockdown would be lifted on April 14 and transport services would resume.

Lockdown displaces lakhs of migrants

Realising there was no possibility of trains running, the group managed to board a truck that had come from Rajasthan. But the police did not allow the truck to cross the Assam-West Bengal border and made the driver return to where he had come from.

The group was subsequently dropped in Chirang district on Tuesday. A nine-month-old baby did not survive the ordeal.

“We have rehabilitated them at a madrasa in Kajalgaon where they are likely to stay until the extended lockdown is lifted on April 3. Food is being organised for them,” a district official said.