Junagarh: Around 49 migrant labourers of Sheikhpada village here in Kalahandi district who were rescued from brick kilns of Telangana and Karnataka two years back are living a life of deprivation as the district administration has not provided them any assistance for their rehabilitation.
Around 29 migrant labourerss were rescued from the Mafuli brick kiln in Telangana and 20 other bonded labourers in Udtul near Raichur in Karnataka.
None of the rescued labourers has received a single penny as compensation till date or release certificates declaring them free from bondage.
The victims, including women and children, are languishing in poverty and finding it hard to survive in the absence of compensation or livelihood opportunities.
Sources said a labour agent, Binod Sardar, lured the victims of Sheikhpada in Maliguda panchayat with promises of attractive wages to work in the brick kilns of Telangana and Karnataka in 2016, and 49 labourers left to work in the above states.
The villagers, minor children and women who went to work at Enkat Rao brick kiln in Panchamphuli near Hyderabad are: Arjun Kabata, Jashobanti Kabata, Huda Gahir, Ghasiram Naik, Suryakanti Naik, Kashiram Naik, Geetanjali Naik, Amita Naik, Seetaram Naik, Kanak Naik, Chandan Naik, Rajindra Naik, Khiramani Naik, Tikachan Naik, Chaitanya Naik, Deepanjali Naik, Kishore Naik,11, Sudhanshu Naik, 12, Sanju Naik, Mukesh Naik, Padaman Rout, Tapan Rout, Juge Rout. The labourers included five minor children and a pregnant woman named Deepanjali, the wife of Chaitanya Naik. Similarly Durdakhaya Naik, Menaka Naik, Tilakar Naik, Tilottama Naik, Bikram Naik, Prasant Naik and others went to work in the SBM brick kiln in Udtul near Raichur in Karnataka.
The labourers were not wages as promised by the agent and each family was paid only Rs 300 for food per week while the henchmen of the brick kiln owner used to make them work till late in the night. They were also assaulted by goons of the contractor.
Deepanjali who was pregnant suffered an abortion after she was assaulted by the goons of the brick kiln owner. A woman labourer, Menaka Naik, who had enrolled for ANM training programme lost a year after the brick kiln owner refused to permit her to go home for her examination.
Labourer Arjun Kabata died after he was tortured at the brick kiln, and his wife Jashobanti had to take shelter with relatives in Chhattisgarh.
The Kalahandi district administration woke up to their plight after reports describing their suffering appeared in the media. It rescued them but never rehabilitated them.
PNN