Assam families mourn victims of Goa nightclub fire, cite lack of jobs that forced youth to migrate

Families of three men from Assam who died in the Goa nightclub fire said on Monday that their children had been compelled to migrate out of the state due to the lack of employment opportunities in their districts.

The three — who were working at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in Arpora — were among the 25 people killed when a massive fire broke out shortly after midnight on Sunday. Six others were injured.

The bodies of Manojit Mal (24) and Rahul Tanti (60), both kitchen staff at the club, have been handed over to their relatives, who were also working in Goa. Diganta Patir’s elder brother, who works in Kerala, has left for Goa to take custody of his remains. Patir was employed as a cook at the nightclub.

Family members, however, alleged that they had not yet been formally informed by authorities about arrangements to bring the bodies back to Assam.

Relatives of Mal and Tanti said the two men had migrated due to persistent job scarcity in their home villages. Both belonged to the tea tribe community, and residents of their Barak Valley villages said poor conditions in the tea gardens had pushed many young people to seek employment outside the state.

In Dhemaji, Patir’s mother said both her sons worked in distant states such as Goa and Kerala because livelihood options were limited in their flood- and erosion-prone district.

The tragedy at the Arpora nightclub has triggered a wider debate on safety enforcement in Goa’s entertainment hubs. While police initially indicated that a cylinder blast may have triggered the blaze, a tourist who survived the incident said fireworks were set off during a dance performance, which she believed caused the fire. Fire officials said most victims died of suffocation after becoming trapped on the ground floor.

The incident has also raised questions about alleged illegal operations at the club, which reportedly lacked key safety clearances. State authorities have begun investigations into possible violations, even as families across states await the return of the victims’ bodies and clarity on responsibility for the disaster.