The family of a 25-year-old migrant worker from Odisha, who passed away at his workplace in Qatar, has appealed to the government to repatriate his remains to his native village in Ganjam district.
This plea comes as the Arab nation remains impacted by the ongoing West Asia conflict.
On Monday, a Ganjam district official stated that a preliminary inquiry into the death has been initiated following the request of the family, and a decision will be taken after examining the probe report.
The deceased has been identified as Kuna Khuntia, a resident of Naikanipalli in the Khallikote block of the district.
Kuna, who was the sole earner for his family, had been employed as a labourer for a private construction firm in Doha for the past five months.
According to his father, Jaya Khuntia, Kuna went to sleep after finishing his shift on Friday night and never woke up.
His messmates took him to a hospital, where doctors declared him dead, one of his friends told his family members, the father of the deceased said.
“We don’t know how he died. We requested the government to bring his body to the village to perform his last rites,” he said.
The exact cause of the death would be known only after getting the medical report, Khuntia said.
“He had been in constant touch with us following the conflict in West Asia. We did not expect such news all of a sudden,” said Runu, mother of the deceased.
The family had been looking forward to his return this year to arrange his marriage. As the sole earner for the impoverished household, his sudden passing has left them in a dire emotional and financial state, they said.
“We have requested the tahasildar, Khallikote, to make arrangements to bring his body to the village from Qatar,” said Mithun Khuntia, local sarapanch.
Meanwhile, District Labour Officer Barsarani Jena stated that her office conducted an initial inquiry on Monday, which included recording statements from the grieving family members.
“We have also recorded the statements of his family members. We will submit the inquiry report to the state’s labour commissioner soon through the district collector to take further steps,” Jena said.
The inquiry report is expected to be submitted to the state’s Labour Commissioner via the District Collector shortly to determine the next steps for repatriation.
Notably, Kuna was among approximately 30 residents from his village currently working as labourers in the conflict-affected Gulf region, including Qatar.
