Malda boy killed at first job in Thane

SADAF MODAK

Mumbai, April 6: If the name Lucky Compound was a misnomer, it was perhaps most so for a Malda youth whose first day at work in the financial capital's neighbourhood proved the last day of his life. The young man had arrived in Thane's Mumbra to work as a construction labourer just a day before Thursday night's house collapse killed 74 people including 11 labourers from Malda, said M.D. Dullur Rehman, a Malda native living in Mumbra the past 15 years. "Noor Hasan arrived on Wednesday after his board exams in Bengal and got his first job on Thursday at Lucky Compound," Rehman, a former labour contractor who now handles tiling and other odd jobs, told The Telegraph. The picture remained somewhat unclear because, going by Malda officials' version, the victim whose details came closest to matching Rehman's account is Mahmood Sheikh, 19, of Dulalganj village. The officials said he had left for Mumbra after sitting his Madhyamik in March but couldn't confirm the date. Whether it was Mahmood or Noor, he was hired for a single day's work like other labourers in Mumbra — and it was his bad luck that the project he was selected for happened to be Lucky Compound. Each morning in Mumbra, thousands of construction labourers gather at the Kausa Naka locality from where builders pick them for just one day's job. They, therefore, often end up working on different projects on different days. Since most new buildings in the town are illegal, local people explained, the builders are never sure when the authorities might stop the work. So, they don't hire workers for more than a day at a time. Rehman said labourers from Bengal are in heavy demand because they are hardworking and because illegal buildings need to be completed fast. "Once a building is completed, the authorities are less likely to demolish it. So, labourers here are made to work round the clock and are paid well. Those from Bengal are known for their hard work and are always the first preference," he said. The workers earn from Rs 400 to Rs 1,000 a day. "At least 15,000 labourers from Malda alone periodically work in Mumbra," Rehman said. "Completing a building in two months (like Lucky Compound was) is not uncommon here," a resident said. "The builders don't even wait for the cement to dry before beginning construction on another floor. If the building develops cracks under the weight of the construction material loaded on it, these are fixed shoddily." Rehman said the collapse had scared many: "At least 30 Bengal workers have returned home." The 11 bodies were flown to Calcutta this evening. http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130407/jsp/frontpage/story_16757148.jsp#.UWGAZqKBlA0