Generational Poverty Deepens as Odisha Migrant Family Waits Four Years for Compensation

Structural Failures and the Cost of Survival

In the wake of a fatal 2022 construction accident in Kerala, the family of Susanta Kumar Naik remains trapped in a cycle of worsening poverty. Naik, 38, died alongside his relative Sankar Naik, 28, on October 26, 2022, when a concrete slab collapsed during a demolition project in Maradu. The death of the sole breadwinner forced his widow, Babi Naik, 35, and their four children to abandon their village in Kendrapara district for a precarious existence in Bhubaneswar.

The economic fallout has targeted the next generation. Radura Naik, now 16, was forced to terminate his education after Class VIII to work full-time at a two-wheeler garage. Earning just ₹2,000 per month, his contribution is essential to cover the ₹4,000 monthly rent for their three-room shack in the Chintamaniswar chawls. While three younger siblings remain in school, their academic futures are compromised by the family₹s hand-to-mouth reality, where Babi must find daily wage work at least 15 days a month to secure food.

The Inertia of Interstate Litigation

Despite the time elapsed, the family has received zero compensation. Legal proceedings are currently managed by the Commissioner for Employee’s Compensation in Kerala, a quasi-judicial body. According to Minoy James, District Labour Officer for Ernakulam, the Labour Department’s authority is now limited to submitting reports to this commission, shifting the burden of legal follow-through onto the victims.

Advocacy groups including the Centre for Migration and Inclusive Development (CMID) and Gram Vikas are financing and monitoring the case. Benoy Peter, executive director of CMID, noted that most migrant fatalities never reach the litigation stage because families lack the resources to navigate the Kerala legal system from distant states. In the Naik case, several factors contributed to the multi-year delay:

• Incomplete documentation, including improperly filed legal authorizations (vakkalatnama).
• Delays in the release of post-mortem reports to the family.
• The geographic hurdles of managing a case across the Odisha-Kerala migrant corridor.
• Resource bottlenecks, as a single tribunal serves Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Ernakulam, and Idukki districts with limited monthly sittings.

A Family at the Breaking Point

Life in the Champa Pokhari slum offers little security. The children are frequently left unattended in a poorly ventilated, cramped dwelling while their mother seeks work. Basic healthcare has become an unattainable luxury; skin ailments go untreated, and a recent leg injury to one daughter drained ₹1,500 from the family's fragile budget. Babi recalls that in the immediate aftermath of her husband’s death, the employer offered verbal assurances that everything would be handled, yet those promises never materialized into financial support.

While Bobby Thomas, counsel for the family, indicates the litigation has finally reached an advanced stage, the four-year vacuum has already altered the trajectory of the Naik children’s lives, trading their education for survival in the informal labor market.

Source: The Hindu — Cities