The devastating fire that claimed 25 lives at a Goa nightclub on Saturday has sent ripples of grief across Assam, where three of the victims hailed from. On Monday, Assam authorities confirmed that they were coordinating with officials in Goa to ensure the swift transportation of the bodies back to the state. For the bereaved families—already grappling with economic vulnerabilities—the tragedy has exposed deeper issues of migration, neglected communities, and the fragile lives of workers compelled to seek employment far from home.

District Disaster Management Authority (Cachar) officer Shamim Ahmed said logistical arrangements, including travel tickets, had been made and that the bodies were expected to reach Assam by Tuesday. He added that efforts were underway to extend financial assistance to the grieving families under existing relief provisions.

Among the three victims from Assam were 24-year-old Manjit Mal and 32-year-old Rahul Tanti, both from tea garden communities in Cachar district. The third victim was 30-year-old Diganta Pator of Matikhola village in Dhemaji district.

Manjit Mal, who lived in Silcoorie Grant, had moved to Goa over a year ago and was working as a cook at the nightclub. Born to a tea garden worker, Mal had become the primary breadwinner for his family. Just five months earlier, he had been home to help arrange his sister’s wedding—an event his relatives remember as a hopeful moment in a life marked by struggle. “He was supporting us by working hard in Goa, and our lives had started changing because of him,” a heartbroken family member said. His sudden death has left the family facing both emotional and financial ruin.

The tragedy was no less severe for the family of Rahul Tanti, a resident of Kathal Grant in Cachar. Tanti had been working in Goa alongside two of his brothers, contributing to the collective effort to lift the family out of poverty. When news of the fire first reached the family around 2:30am, they clung to the hope that Rahul had merely been injured. But confirmation from his brothers soon shattered those hopes.

His father, Banul Tanti, expressed the family’s anguish and appealed for government support in repatriating the body. But the deepest grief was voiced by Rahul’s wife, Sukriti, who now faces the prospect of raising three young children—two daughters and a two-month-old son—alone. “We were waiting for him to come home soon, but now only his body is coming. My world is shattered,” she said, describing the overwhelming uncertainty that lies ahead.

Residents of Cachar’s tea garden areas say tragedies like this are the consequence of long-standing systemic neglect. With declining conditions in tea gardens, shrinking job opportunities, and the absence of major industries, young people have been compelled to migrate to distant states, often taking up low-paying jobs with little security. “The condition of tea gardens is also poor. With no major industries in the area, youths are moving out. They work as guards, cooks, and other low-profile jobs where life security is low,” said local resident Guru Prasad Malah.

What has compounded the grief is the sense of abandonment felt by the families. Local residents voiced their anger, noting that since the tragedy occurred on Saturday night, no elected representatives—neither MLAs nor ministers—had visited the affected families. “This shows how ignored we are,” one resident said, reflecting the frustration of communities that feel perennially marginalized in the state’s political landscape.

Meanwhile, the family of the third victim, Diganta Pator from Dhemaji district, said they had already collected his remains and were bringing them home. Pator, like many others from Assam, had migrated to Goa seeking better opportunities, only to become a casualty of an unforeseen disaster.

As Assam prepares to receive the bodies of the three young men who lost their lives far from home, their stories lay bare the stark realities faced by countless workers from marginalized regions. They speak of families striving for a better future, of youth displaced by economic desperation, and of the enduring gaps in political and institutional support. The Goa nightclub fire is not just a tragedy of lives lost; it is a reminder of the vulnerabilities that continue to define the journeys of migrant workers from neglected corners of the country.