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.

Comments

Countrywide protest by gig workers puts spotlight on algorithmic exploitation

By A Representative A nationwide protest led largely by women gig and platform workers was held across several states on February 3, with the Gig & Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU) claiming the mobilisation as a success and a strong assertion of workers’ rights against what it described as widespread exploitation by digital platform companies. Demonstrations took place in Delhi, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra and other states, covering major cities including New Delhi, Jaipur, Bengaluru and Mumbai, along with multiple districts across the country.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

CFA flags ‘welfare retreat’ in Union Budget 2026–27, alleges corporate bias

By Jag Jivan The advocacy group Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA) has sharply criticised the Union Budget 2026–27 , calling it a “budget sans kartavya” that weakens public welfare while favouring private corporations, even as inequality, climate risks and social distress deepen across the country.

From water scarcity to sustainable livelihoods: The turnaround of Salaiya Maaf

By Bharat Dogra We were sitting at a central place in Salaiya Maaf village, located in Mahoba district of Uttar Pradesh, for a group discussion when an elderly woman said in an emotional voice, “It is so good that you people came. Land on which nothing grew can now produce good crops.”

Paper guarantees, real hardship: How budget 2026–27 abandons rural India

By Vikas Meshram In the history of Indian democracy, the Union government’s annual budget has always carried great significance. However, the 2026–27 budget raises several alarming concerns for rural India. In particular, the vague provisions of the VBG–Ram Ji scheme and major changes to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA) have put the future of rural workers at risk. A deeper reading of the budget reveals that these changes are not merely administrative but are closely tied to political and economic priorities that will have far-reaching consequences for millions of rural households.

Penpa Tsering’s leadership and record under scrutiny amidst Tibetan exile elections

By Tseten Lhundup* Within the Tibetan exile community, Penpa Tsering is often described as having risen through grassroots engagement. Born in 1967, he comes from an ordinary Tibetan family, pursued higher education at Delhi University in India, and went on to serve as Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile from 2008 to 2016. In 2021, he was elected Sikyong of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), becoming the second democratically elected political leader of the administration after Lobsang Sangay.

'Gandhi Talks': Cinema that dares to be quiet, where music, image and silence speak

By Vikas Meshram In today’s digital age, where reels and short videos dominate attention spans, watching a silent film for over two hours feels almost like an act of resistance. Directed by Kishor Pandurang Belekar, “Gandhi Talks” is a bold cinematic experiment that turns silence into language and wordlessness into a powerful storytelling device. The film is not mere entertainment; it is an experience that pushes the viewer inward, compelling reflection on life, values, and society.

Frugal funds, fading promises: Budget 2026 exposes shrinking space for minority welfare

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* The Ministry of Minority Affairs was established in 2006 during the tenure of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, following the findings of the Sachar Committee, which documented that Muslims were among the most educationally and economically disadvantaged communities in India. The ministry was conceived as a corrective institutional response to deep structural inequalities faced by religious minorities, particularly Muslims, through focused policy interventions.

From Puri to the State: How Odisha turned the dream of drinkable tap water into policy

By Hans Harelimana Hirwa, Mansee Bal Bhargava Drinking water directly from the tap is generally associated with developed countries where it is considered safe and potable. Only about 50 countries around the world offer drinkable tap water, with the majority located in Europe and North America, and a few in Asia and Oceania. Iceland, Switzerland, Finland, Germany, and Singapore have the highest-quality tap water, followed by Canada, New Zealand, Japan, the USA, Australia, the UK, Costa Rica, and Chile.

Search This Blog