17-year-old tribal worker left crippled after construction site fall, family struggles without support

By A Representative 

A tragic case of exploitation and neglect has come to light after 17-year-old Jayesh Damor, a tribal youth from Dahod taluka, was severely injured in a construction site accident last year and left permanently disabled, with no sustained support from the builder or government welfare boards.

According to labour rights activist Vipul Pandya of the Bandhkam Majur Sangathan, Jayesh had come to Ahmedabad to support his father financially after completing education till class eight in his village school. He joined the work of scaffolding (pālkha bāndhvānā kām) and, over four years, became a skilled worker earning around ₹700 a day. When he had first started, his daily wage was just ₹250–300.

On September 20, 2024, Jayesh was working with a relative, a contractor, at a site near Empire Tower close to Kargil Petrol Pump in Ahmedabad. He was engaged in scaffolding work on the third floor near a lift shaft. Around 9:30 a.m., barely half an hour after starting work, he slipped and fell straight to the ground. He suffered grievous injuries to his head and left hand and had to be admitted to the ICU.

Pandya notes that the builder initially covered some medical expenses, but stopped paying by May this year. Jayesh is now being treated under the Ayushman card at SMS Multi Speciality Hospital near Tapovan Circle, where doctors have scheduled brain surgery next week.

“Jayesh has survived, but his life has been ruined. The boy who left school to support his father is now bedridden. His parents, who once depended on his earnings, are now forced to stop their own labour work to take care of him,” Pandya said.

Jayesh was only 17 years and six months old at the time of the accident. Because he does not possess an official labour card, he is ineligible for any assistance from the Construction Workers’ Welfare Board. His mother, speaking in despair, told Pandya: “Now we don’t know whether to go for labour work or stay back to care for our son. The builder has stopped giving any financial help.”

The family currently lives in a fragile hut where nights are plagued by mosquitoes. With no proper sanitation, they have been forced to build a makeshift toilet by placing stones together.

In a social media post, Pandya sharply criticised the state’s neglect of workers in such situations. “When accident victims like Jayesh are left without any timely financial help from the board, what is the purpose of the ₹6,800 crore lying in the construction workers’ welfare fund? Should that money just rot while workers suffer like this?” he asked.

The case has once again highlighted the vulnerability of young tribal and migrant workers in Gujarat’s booming construction sector, where safety measures remain lax and social security systems fail those most in need.