Bhubaneswar: A migrant worker from Kendrapara district stranded in Haryana since enforcement of lockdown in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak, allegedly committed suicide after his desperate pleas failed to make any impact on the government or the construction company he was engaged with. The deceased Gangadhar Biswal, working with the firm in Haryana for some years now, has been identified as a resident of Bijapur village under Rajkanika block in Kendrapara district.
According to reports, Gangadhar allegedly committed suicide in Yamuna Nagar of Haryana on Wednesday by hanging himself from a tree. It is being said that he was driven into a state of depression as he did not have any work, nor could he return home amid the lockdown.
A co-worker and roommate of Gangadhar said that he was ill for past few days and wanted to return home; however, he was unable to do so due to the lockdown which left him in severe mental duress.
"Gangadhar was also under financial pressure as the construction firm where we were working was shut down. The company was earlier giving us money to meet food and other basic needs. However, when it stopped giving money, we ran out of all our savings. Moreover, his family had asked him to send money, which seems to have forced him to take the extreme step," the roommate said.
"Today morning when we woke up, he (Gangadhar) was not there in the room. When we searched for him, we found his body hanging from a tree in a field," Gangadhar's friend narrated.
Notably through a social media post, Gangadhar along with other stranded people had accused the State government and the construction firm of apathy and requested to help him and make arrangements for his return to Odisha. Unfortunately, the help never reached him, sources say.