Stroke of luck keeps labourer away from building collapse in Goa

Panaji: Sanjiv Goswami, a casual labourer, has not stopped thanking his friend, who called him over to Margao town to help him out in some government related work. The 25-year-old is amongst the few labourers saved from the disastrous collapse of the building in Canacona on Saturday. Sanjiv watched the rescue operation helplessly as ten people from his native state Jharkhand remained trapped in the debris of the five-storey building.

"I was supposed to be on the site today, but my friend called me to help him out in some government work. I took leave to go to Margao town," said Sanjiv who rushed back to the site after hearing the news. He suspects that more than 50 people might have been stuck under the debris even as the rescue operation was underway. The workers from states like Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and few from Goa had been working on the site since the last two years in this huge complex named as `Ruby Residency`. Sanjiv said that the workers were paid Rs 300 a day without any other benefits mandatory under the Labour Law. "I went near the debris and tried to hear the voice of anyone surviving inside, , but I fear they are already dead," he said.