Berhampur: As many as 26 labourers allegedly being trafficked from Ganjam district to Gujurat were rescued from Ganjam border Sunday. Three middlemen have been detained in connection with the incident.
The rescue came following simultaneous raids conducted by the Balipadar police and Buguda block administration. Acting on a tip-off the cops intercepted a bus carrying the labourers during Sunday wee hours.
While investigating, the cops came to know that most of the labourers are from Polsara and Buguda block in the district.
When questioned, the labourers said that the government had promised to provide jobs after their return from their workplaces outside Odisha amid COVID-19 outbreak. However, the government has failed to fulfil its promise that has forced them to look for opportunities elsewhere.
“With no source of income here, we are struggling to make ends meet and are forced to move to other states in search of work,” said a migrant labour.
With the resumption of industrial operations in Gujarat’s Surat, industries are in need of cheap manual labour. Taking advantage of the largescale unemployment in Odisha, the middlemen have again started labour trafficking from migrant-prone Ganjam district.
PNN