Sundargarh factories turn death traps for migrants

Workplace accidents and fatalities, particularly those involving migrant workers, have become increasingly common at privately-owned factories in and around Rourkela in Sundargarh district.

- POST NEWS NETWORK

The reason: These migrant workers - many of whom are unskilled, semiskilled, or underage, and often lack proper training — are being assigned hazardous tasks without adequate attention to safety standards, reports said.

According to the reports, Rourkela and its suburbs have been witnessing a steady rise of private factories over the years, leading to increased employment opportunities, particularly for migrant workers. Although some local labourers are engaged, the majority of workers are being recruited from other states, including Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, and Jharkhand. Of late, the death and injury of migrant workers at these enterprises in regular intervals has become a matter of concern.

Despite earning super profits, factory owners are allegedly offering meagre compensation to the families of deceased or injured workers in order to ‘settle’ cases quietly. While government-owned companies maintain records of all their labourers, gross violations are frequently reported in private units—particularly in induction, sponge iron, and boiler factories.