Amrit Kumar was feeling feverish when his friend Mohammed Saiyub and other migrant workers boarded a truck to go home on Thursday in Surat. The two worked in different textile units but shared a room as they belonged to the same village in Basti in Uttar Pradesh, hundreds of kilometres away from Gujarat. The paracetamol tablets they had stocked were of little help as Amrit’s condition did not improve throughout the journey atop the truck in scorching heat. When the vehicle reached Kolaras in Madhya Pradesh on Friday, Amrit's health deteriorated. Saiyub sought medical help for his friend, but the other migrant workers and the truck driver did not want to wait for it to arrive. "Dar nahi laga. Yehi lag raha tha ki ye jaldi thik ho jaye aur ghar pahunch jaaye sahi salamat. Mere parents bhi intezar kar rahe the uske mammi papa bhi. Jab tak ilaz nahi hota mai yahi rahunga (I was not scared. I wanted him to get better so that we could reach home safe. Our parents were waiting for us. I will stay with him till he is cured)," said the 23-year-old while speaking to The Indian Express from an isolation facility in Shivpuri district hospital on Sunday. When Amrit got off the vehicle, the driver asked Saiyub to take his place in the truck. "Mai nahi aane wala. Tum logonko jaana hai to jao. Aise halat mein chhod ke kaise ja sakta hu (I am not going to continue. If you want you can leave. How could I leave (him) in such condition," Saiyub told the driver and others before getting down. As Amrit's health continued to sink, Saiyub sat cradling his friend's head by the roadside - an image that has gone viral on the social media. A half-empty water bottle and a red backpack lay next to the two friends. He used the water to moisten his handkerchief and place it on his friend’s forehead to lower the temperature.When an ambulance arrived a few minutes later, another image showed Saiyub move quickly to shift his friend. Also read | Most Shramik trains from Red zones, isolating migrants is new challenge "I realised he may not survive. He tried to speak but could make only some sounds," said Saiyub, who is waiting for his and his friend’s Covid-19 test results. Amrit was taken to the community health centre in Kolaras where Dr Vivek Sharma tried to revive him. "His sugar was low. I gave him ORS. His temperature was high. I thought it was a case of heat stroke. He had febrile convulsions,’" said Dr Sharma, who took Saiyub for Amrit’s brother because he was constantly touching his friend. "Even ward boys are scared to touch patients these days. They have to be pushed to do so." Amrit was then referred to Shivpuri, the district headquarters, about 25 kms away. He died late on Friday. Shivpuri chief medical and health officer Dr A L Sharma said samples were taken because Amrit and his friend had arrived from a red zone. He said Amrit’s lungs were clear but he had severe dehydration. He was shifted to ICU and kept on ventilator but died around midnight. Till the reports arrive, doctors and staff who treated Amrit have gone in quarantine. Also read | With migrants headed home, 65% hike in MNREGA funds Saiyub said his friend was always tensed about money as he was the sole breadwinner for his family. He earned around Rs 10,000 and sent most of it to support his two siblings and parents. He also said Amrit had spoken to the truck driver and paid for both of them to reach home.
