BHUBANESWAR/BALANGIR : For migrant labourers from Western Odisha, Balangir in particular, there is no end to the cycle of poverty, harassment and suffering despite the presence of laws to safeguard them.
One such incident has come to fore at Ambapali under Saintala block of Balangir district where the entire village came together to bring the body of a co-villager back from Secunderabad, Telangana, where he had gone to work.
Kishor Majhi of the village had gone to Secunderabad with his wife and seven-year-old daughter a fortnight back to work at an egg factory. While the couple was provided work at the factory, Kishor complained of illness after a few days. Although the employer admitted him to the local hospital, he succumbed four days back.
To make things worse for his widow and daughter, the ambulance service of the hospital demanded Rs 56,000 to carry Kishor’s body to Ambapali. With the employer refusing to contribute, Kishore’s family took up the matter with villagers.
“Since Kishor’s wife was alone in the alien land with the mortal remains and a minor daughter, we all decided to collect money to pay for the ambulance. A meeting was called and every family was asked to contribute whatever they could,” said Agasti Bag, Kishor’s neighbour.
While many villages paid between Rs 100 and Rs 1,000, there were a few families who also contributed Rs 2,000 and more to get his body back. Agasti, a farm labourer himself, donated Rs 1,000 from his savings.
“Many sold the paddy they had stocked for their family consumption and donated the money. We managed to collect Rs 42,000 in a day and asked the ambulance driver to bring the body to our village. After the body reached, we paid him Rs 42,000 and assured to pay the rest in a few days,” Agasti said.
The cremation was conducted three days back and villagers are now hoping the government would come to the help of the Majhi family.
While almost all the villagers of Ambapali migrate to other states for work during this part of the year, this was the first time Kishor had stepped out from his village. Eldest among three siblings, he used to work as a farm labour and do menial jobs.
“Since sustenance was becoming difficult, he decided to go to Secunderabad where his in-laws had previously worked.
He had thought that they could work there and earn decently,” said Dileswar Majhi, Kishor’s younger brother.
He added that the employer hasn’t even paid for the work that Kishor and his wife did in the factory before the former fell ill and succumbed.