Migrant worker’s coffin returns to Malda

Malda: Once again, the grim reality of migrant labour has cast a shadow over Malda district. On Sunday, the coffin of Sheikh Baisi, a 25-year-old migrant worker from Chandpara village under Ratua-II block, returned home, plunging the area into grief.

Baisi had left his village around two-and-a-half months ago for Andhra Pradesh, where he worked under a contractor, engaged in installing electric wires. On September 20, tragedy struck. He was electrocuted and fell from a height, while at work. He was rushed to a local hospital in a critical condition but succumbed to his injuries three days later, on September 23.

The young worker leaves behind his aging parents, his wife and two minor children. For the family that depended solely on his meager earnings, the tragedy has left them staring at an uncertain future.

His uncle, Safi Alam, expressed anger and anguish over the incident. “My nephew went far away only to feed his children. Now his wife is left alone with two little kids.

The contractor must step in and provide compensation, so the family does not starve,” he said. The entire Chandpara village mourned his loss on Sunday as the coffin

arrived home.