KRISHNAGIRI: Over a dozen bonded labourers of the Irula tribe were rescued by an NGO from three flower nurseries near Thalli on Thursday evening with the support of revenue, police and labour department.
Eighteen persons rescued are natives of Udedurgam Panchayat. They included six women, five men and three boys, two girls and two babies. The five older children were school drop-outs. All the rescued persons were taken to a shelter at Hosur.
The operation was carried out by the National Adivasi Solidarity Council (NASC) along with the government authorities following a tip-off.
The NASC team alerted the Krishnagiri district administration, following which Denkanikottai social security scheme tahsildar R Mohandass, Denkanikottai police, assistant inspector of labour P Sivamurthy and NASC advocate V Ammu reached three nursery units near Mathagondapalli.
After a preliminary enquiry, an official said, "A person was paid Rs 30,000 four months before. Thereafter, the labourer had to work in a nursery from 6 am to 6 pm with very little interval. Also, they were not allowed to visit nearby shops or markets though one person of a family can go at a time. One labourer was allegedly assaulted by the owner and verbally abused many times. Similarly, another person received Rs 24,000 but he did not settle his debt for over three months despite working there for many hours."
Revenue department officials will take action against the nursery owners after further probe