BHUBANESWAR: Mohan Nag and his family are desperately waiting for the extended Covid-19 lockdown to return home from Telangana. A resident of Doromunda village under Belpada block in Balangir district, Nag and his extended family of seven have been mourning the untimely death of his eight-year-old daughter Barsha at a far away place in Telangana where they have been working as bonded labourers in a brick kiln since October 2019.
The Nag family are under constant threat from the brick kiln owner not to speak to anyone about the incident. Their mobile phones, the only mode of communication, were taken away by the employer to ensure that the message of the mishap does not reach even their village. It took almost a week for the TNIE to establish contact with the Nag family even after being informed of the incident in time. The mobile of Mohan is still with the kiln owner as he spoke on the mobile of his father-in-law Kuma Deep, who uses it stealthy. The most disturbing part of the incident is that the family has not seen Barsha after she was taken to hospital.
“My daughter was running fever and complained of chest pain on April 17 morning. I sought permission of the brick kiln owner, whom he identified as Venkatesh (as he does not know the full name) to take her to hospital. I was told not to worry as doctor will come to see her,” Nag told this paper. He said the doctor came at around 5 pm and gave some tablets. She felt uneasy again at around 3 am and complained of chest pain. The girl passed away before she could be taken to hospital. While Mohan claimed that the brick kiln owner accompanied him to the hospital the next morning where she was declared brought dead by the doctor, his father-in-law said Barsha was taken to the hospital by men of Vekantesh, owner of VSR Bricks.
“After post-mortem, they (Venkatesh’s men) performed the last rites,” Kuma said.
Kuma said they do not know whether the girl was cremated or buried. The post-mortem report is still with the employer and they have no idea what happened to their daughter. Despite repeated pleas, they have not been informed about the post-mortem report. A father of three (Barsha and two sons), Mohan, his wife, a cousin and Kuma were promised by the brick kiln owner a free transport to their village after the mishap. With lockdown still in force, they are hoping against hope that the employer will arrange a smooth passage for them to their village.
Recruited against an advance of `1.07 lakh by local labour contractor Phagun Deep, stated to be Sarpanch of Ghaguli panchayat under Belpada block, eight members of Nag family were trafficked to Raghavapur, around 800 km from Balangir after Durga Puja last year. The Nag family has already made three lakh bricks but do not know if the advance they had taken has been repaid out of their labour cost.