Five laborers from Jamtara stranded in Kashmir.
Jagran correspondent, Mihijam (Jamtara). The painful story of five laborers stranded in Kashmir amidst severe cold and continuous snowfall has created a sensation in Mihijam area adjacent to Chittaranjan.
It is alleged that the contractor who took them for work has forcibly detained the workers and is demanding Rs 40,000 per person in return for returning home. The workers have claimed through video message that they have been openly threatened to kill if the amount is not paid.
These workers, who are living in fear of their lives, are residents of Gandhi Nagar area across the railway line of Mihijam. The names of the victims have been given as Ravi Musahar, Dilip Bauri, Shiva Das, Bhola Turi and Sikandar Turi. The workers say that about a month ago, Dumka resident Vijay Mirdha, owner Mirdha and another contractor had taken them to Kashmir on the pretext of better wages.
There, work was being done to build a stone wall on the roadside, where the work was being carried out risking one's life amidst extreme cold and snowfall. It is alleged that they are neither being given adequate food nor allowed to return home. Due to constant intimidation, he could not even contact the local administration. Finally, he somehow contacted a journalist and shared his ordeal.
The workers have appealed to the social organizations of Mihijam and the Jharkhand administration to immediately intervene and bring them back safely. At present the contractors have not been contacted and the truth of the entire matter is based only on the video statements of the workers.