KOCHI: Amir Aully Mondal, 27, was huddled at the construction site with his brother Najeesh Ali on Friday, watching videos of the Holi celebrations at their native place Ashok Nagar in Kolkata on their phones. That was the last time he saw his brother alive. Amir had gone out of the pit where he and other migrant workers had been working to grab a glass of water when tragedy struck moments later.
“My brother and three of my friends died right before my eyes,” Amir, still in shock, told TNIE. He was inconsolable. “Najeesh was super happy after watching the videos of the Holi celebrations that took place at our native district. How could he leave us moments later? Had I not gone away to drink water, I could have saved him,” said Amir. He was yet to inform Najeesh’s wife, back in Kolkata, of the tragedy.
“What will I say? They have three kids,” said Amir, tears rolling down his cheeks. The tragedy at Nest Electronic City near Kalamassery sent shock waves among migrant workers as they now fear it can happen any time at the construction site.
“We cannot express how shattered we are. We were lucky to escape, but now we fear this can happen again any time. We lost four of our friends. It will be difficult to live with just the memories we shared,” said Yakub, who was among the 25 workers engaged at the site. While some believe it was an accident, many said it was, in fact, a man-made tragedy.
The construction work, primarily comprising manual piling, was being done on top of loose soilfilled land. The company levelled more than 25 feet of land using loose soil and after that, started digging up the deep pit. “Though we had informed the engineer of our fears, he assured us it nothing would happen.
We are toiling to provide for our families back home. How can engineers and contractors allow us to work in dangerous conditions? We are humans too,” said Jalaluddin Mondal. He said the engineers of the construction firm escaped immediately after the accident.