Migrant dies during farm work; police help to send body home

RANIPET: Nemili police extended all help to send the body of a migrant worker, who died while transplanting paddy seedlings from a nursery to the field, to his native place in West Bengal on Wednesday.

Dinu Hemram (40) of Amadpur village in Burdhaman district in West Bengal while working in a field, which was owned by Mari of Attupakkam, in Arakkonam taluk on Tuesday suddenly felt uneasy. He moved from the field to the rest shed where he collapsed and breathed his last.

He was part of a group of 13 from West Bengal to undertake paddy transplanting work. DT Next recently highlighted how the dearth of local farm labour resulted in more than two groups of nearly 32 persons, including women, coming to Nemili taluk villages to undertake transplanting work. Charging less and working longer the workers were soon hit by local farmers who demanded that such workers also work on their farms, Amuthan a local farmer said. “They have already proved their mettle by working in farms at Siruvalayam and Kalpalampattu villages,” he added.

Following the death Tamizhaga Vivasayigal Sangam youth wing state president R Subash went to the police station and got a CSR along with NOC to send the body to his native village. However, problems surfaced when locals failed to get transport. “As local hearse services charges were high, we approached operators in Chennai, who agreed to take the body to West Bengal,” Subash said. The sister of the victim and two others travelled with the body in the hearse, which left around 1 pm.