Bhubaneswar: The
National Human Rights Commission has issued notice to Odisha and Andhra Pradesh
government over bonded laborers working in the different brick kilns in AP. The
commission has also directed the chief secretaries of both the state to file a
report in the matter. This direction came on a complaint of odisha based rights
activist Akhand.
The petition
said that “as many as 72 people including 22 men, 26 women and 24 children were
rescued from a brick kiln in Gowdavilla village in Ranga Reddy district in
Andhra Pradesh on 28 February. The rescued children are between the age group 3
to 8 who were also engaged in the kiln. All the rescued bonded laborers hails
from Bolangir, Patnagarh, Golmunda and Sinapalli and have been in employed
since eight months.
The laborers
were trafficked into the facility after being promised an initial advance amount
of Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000 by a middleman. On agreeing each family had received
a sum of Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000. Each family was then paid a meager amount of Rs
500 per week. Each family had to make approximately 10,000 to 12,000 bricks a
week as they are forced to work for 16 to18 hours a day, alleged Akhand.
It is the
regular practice in the brick kiln that kiln owner denied the laborers freedom
of movement. They were not allowed to go to the marketplace and not even to
work outside of the brick kiln. The bonded laborers were severely verbally and
physically abused by the kiln owner. But No action was taken by the police and
local administration against the brick kiln owner, alleged Akhand.
The petitioner
has prayed for a compensation and rehabilitation to the victims and criminal
case against the employer. Hearing the matter the NHRC has slapped notice to
the both Andrapradesh and Odisha government to file an report in the matter
within six weeks.
Being trapped
and enslaved to their owner, bonded laborers continue to face extreme forms of
violence. Over the past two months, there have been cases of murder, rape,
kidnap, chopping and crushing of hands of bonded laborers in different parts of
India. Recently two bonded laborers engaged in a brick kiln victimized by their
employer who chopped off their palms when they denied working further. In Ranga
Reddy district alone, there are 265 kilns with an average of 30 families
working in each of them.
Source: Odishabook.com
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