Nepali widow still waiting for answers over husband’s death at Qatar stadium

Nahla Abdelmonem

The family of Nepali worker Tej Narayan Tharu who died at al-Wakrah Stadium in Doha a few months ago have not received his official death report or compensations so far.

His wife, Renuka Chaudhary, said Tharu, 23, died in August when he fell from a high walkway at al-Wakrah stadium, being built for the 2022 World Cup.

Chaudhary took two more calls from Qatar, one from Manar General Contracting, the company that employed her husband, and one from the supreme committee for delivery and legacy, the body organizing the World Cup.

“The man from the supreme committee said sorry. I asked him how my husband died. He said they were investigating the death,” she said. Three months later, Chaudhary is still waiting for an answer.

“He fell off from the walkway … It’s usually considered safe. But people from another company had removed a floor plate, creating a gap. He failed to see it and fell through it,” sources told the newspaper.

Three other al-Wakrah stadium workers have died this year, all off site. Their families are also still waiting for compensation from their employers in Qatar.

A 2014 report by DLA Piper, an international law firm commissioned by Qatari authorities to investigate the treatment of migrant workers, recommended that the government order an independent study into the deaths of migrant workers from cardiac arrest, the Guardian added.

The Qatar government did not respond to enquiries about whether the study has been commissioned.

Sita, Tharu’s mother, said, “I’m heartbroken. My son has gone forever. He is never coming back. He has a small daughter. Life is long and hard. How will she survive?”