BHUBANESWAR : When Jitu Swain allegedly ended his life at a labour camp in Bahrain on August 16, his parents at the remote Khandigaon village of Ganjam district here neither had the funds nor the resources to get back his mortal remains from the alien land.
If not for the founder of Bahrain Odia Samaj Arun Kumar Praharaj, the elderly couple would have never got to see their son for the one last time.
Not only did he facilitate the post-mortem but also made provisions for repatriating the body to Bhubaneswar and then to Swain’s native land on August 28.
The 27-year-old youth had hanged himself to death due to financial stress. While the company has already cleared his dues and other settlements, Praharaj is now working towards getting an ex-gratia for the kin of the deceased.
Only 24 hours before Swain’s death, Praharaj had repatriated body of another worker from Ganjam Simanchala Rout from Bahrain to Odisha. Rout had suffered a brain stroke and was under treatment for 21 days before he succumbed on August 8.
For many faceless Odia workers struggling to eke out a living in the Middle Eastern desert island of Bahrain, Praharaj has become their go-to person during times of crisis. Since the Covid-19 outbreak, Praharaj - the CEO of Dadabhai Group at Bahrain - has been offering altruistic services to fellow Indians, Odias in particular.
Be it rescuing stranded labourers, extending financial and legal help to them or repatriating bodies to Odisha.
“Here in Bahrain, the poor labourers from Odisha or for that matter any part of India do not have anyone to look forward to or seek help from in case of emergencies. This situation worsened when the Covid-19 struck”, says Praharaj who has been working towards socio-economic and health security of migrant workers residing in the Gulf country for over the last two decades.
During the Covid-19 lockdowns, he has not only facilitated return of over 350 Odia labourers from Bahrain to Odisha through direct flights but also paid ticket fares of more than 25 such poor workers and arranged food supplies for stranded labourers at labour camps.
Besides, with the help of Odia community volunteers, he created a database to facilitate embassy registration of estranged migrants.
He has also been taking up the cause of migrant workers with the Indian Government at regular intervals.
“There are many measures that both the State and Centre need to take to ensure social security and labour rights of poor workers who are coming to the Gulf for work. To begin with, they can form an NRI cell at State-level to create a database of non-resident Odias and appoint coordinators in each country to help the community when the need arises”, says the Mayurbhanj-born philanthropist.
Man with a ‘green thumb’
Apart from helping Odias and promoting Odia culture in the Middle East, Praharaj is an avid and passionate gardener.
His garden over 25,000 sq ft of desert land boasts of seasonal flowers, fruits and vegetables.
While some regulars in his garden are black berry, banana, pomegranate and Chiku plants, the man with a ‘green thumb’ has also been able to grow strawberries and Indian Bael plant.
“I started this garden by mixing the desert sand with Indian soil and I have been nourishing it for the last 20 years with organic vermicompost that I make from vegetable waste, dry leaves and grass”, says Praharaj.
He has also been creating awareness on the health benefits of Sajana saga (drumstick leaves) in Bahrain and distributing saplings of the plant in the entire kingdom free of cost.
“It was actually my father late Dr Trailokyanath Praharaj who had a green thumb. His passion for plants drew me towards gardening”, he says.
From rescuing stranded Odia workers to looking after their welfare in the Gulf country of Bahrain, philanthropist, entrepreneur non resident Odia Arun Praharaj is saviour for countless hapless expatriates there for over two decades now. Diana Sahu traces his journey