Truckers stranded in Kanpur due to coronavirus lockdown

Several truck drivers, many with goods loaded on their vehicles, have been stuck in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur for over a week as state borders are closed amid the lockdown imposed to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh) [India], Mar 28 : Several truck drivers, many with goods loaded on their vehicles, have been stuck in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur for over a week as state borders are closed amid the lockdown imposed to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

According to truckers, there are no arrangement for food and water, and even the dhabas are closed.

"I have been stuck here for 13 days now. I am headed to Guntur but they are not letting us move. Sometimes we are able to find food, other times we have to fast," one of the truckers destined to Guntur in Andhra Pradesh, B Venkatesh Reddy, told here on Saturday.

Another truck driver said that they are stranded in Kanpur away from their families and are no longer in communication with their contractors or customers.

"No one is picking their phones, we don't know what to do. There is no food and water available," said Srinivasan, another truck driver, who had come to Kanpur to deliver goods from Tamil Nadu.

This comes as the country is in a three-week lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus, which according to the Ministry of Health and Family Affairs has claimed 19 lives and infected at least 873 others as on Friday.

( With inputs from ANI )