Panjim: Of the 25 persons killed in the massive blaze that broke out at the restaurant in Goa in the wee hours of Sunday, 20 worked at the establishment and all of them were migrants.
Goa draws migrant workers, not only from other parts of the country, but also Nepal, during the tourist season that is just about starting. Most of them earn anything between Rs 15,000-25,000 per month till the season lasts.
Jitendra Rawat (24) of Uttarakhand’s Tehri Garhwal district was one of those killed. He went to Goa six months ago and got a job as a chef at Birch by Romeo Lane in Arpora, North Goa.
“Who doesn’t want to come to Goa,” The Indian Express quoted Jitendra’s cousin Ashish as saying as he waited outside the Goa Medical College and Hospital for the body.
“I heard he and the others suffocated to death in the kitchen. No one comes here to die,” Ashish said.
It is now being suspected that the fire started on the ground floor and the smoke spread to the basement where the workers were. There weren’t sufficient exits and the workers suffocated.
There were three migrant workers were Jharkhand among the dead. They included brothers Binod Mahto (19) and Pradeep Mahto (22) from Lapung in the Ranchi sub-division. They had reached Goa a few months ago and did odd jobs in housekeeping before taking up “cutting work” in the kitchen.
“There is so much poverty in the village. There are no jobs, hence the youth have to come here to earn a living. They were so young and had their whole lives ahead of them,” their uncle Narayan Mahto said.
He claimed that the two died while they were working and nobody went to rescue them.
Mohit Munda (18), from the Khunti district of Jharkhand is another victim. His elder brother Bikash waited outside the morgue.
“My father is a farmer. I work in a lounge in Goa, and my brother came here a year ago. I have no words to describe my pain,” TIE has quoted him as saying.
Nepal’s Churna Bahadur Pun was also a victim. The 30-year-old chef was from the Dang district.
“At 4 am, one of his colleagues informed me that he suffocated in the fire. It is disturbing that no one came to help the trapped men. He would send his wife and daughter money every month. It will take two days for his family to arrive,” Padam Rawat, a relative said.
Rahul Tanti (26) from Silchar in Assam was working in the kitchen and fainted near the staircase when smoke engulfed the premises, his cousin, Shibreem, said.
“If only someone had helped him…He came to Goa about five years ago and worked at many restaurants as a chef. He said cooking is all about giving and sharing. He has a wife and three children,” he added.
