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Violent protests erupted in Surat city of Gujarat on Friday night when hundreds of migrant workers poured out on roads amid Coronavirus lockdown and set many vehicles and handcarts on fire and hurled stones at the police.

The protesting migrant workers, who are stranded in Surat amid the lockdown, demanded that necessary arrangements be made for them to return to their native places and are also sought quick disbursal of unpaid dues, an official said.

Several migrant workers took to the streets in Laskana area and set ablaze handcarts demanding that they be allowed to return to their native states, police said.

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While the situation has been brought under control, police have also detained several migrant workers for engaging in violent protest, the official said.

Workers who have become jobless due to the lockdown are demanding that they should be allowed to return to their villages, he said.

The arson happened on a day when the number of coronavirus cases in Gujarat rose to 378 after 116 new cases were reported since Thursday night, a senior health official said. The increase in cases during 24 hours is the highest so far, he added.

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With two more deaths reported during this period, the death toll due to coronavirus reached 19, he said.

(With PTI inputs)

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