CHENNAI: Eight bonded labourers, including six minors, were rescued from two pani puri making units in Chennai in the past week. All of them are natives of Bihar, and from families categorised as Scheduled Caste. The youngsters were in charge of preparing dough and rolling, frying, and packing the puris in packets.
Labour department officials said all eight had worked 12-hour shifts for Rs 500 a month. They were rescued in two operations, the first conducted on August 25 and the second on Thursday. “Both are clear cases of bonded labour. Their parents had taken money in advance and let the children work in extremely difficult conditions for long hours,” an official said.
On August 25, four labourers, the youngest just 12 years old, were rescued from a unit in Perambur. They had run away from their workplace and were reportedly found by a human trafficking crisis team at the Perambur Railway Station. “The boys seem to have been physically abused. One of them had a big burn mark on his hip,” said S Prabhakaran of Shout For Freedom Coalition.
“They were not allowed to leave the unit or visit their home. They could not handle it anymore and decided to flee.” Based on information given by the boys, officials and NGO workers realised another pani puri making unit was also holding bonded labourers. A raid was conducted on Thursday and four more labourers, three of them minors, were rescued.
“The boys were found in 10X10 ft room, where they made and packaged the puris. They were forced to stay in the same place and barely ever allowed outside,” the revenue department official said, adding that a medical test will be conducted on Friday morning to ascertain if the rescued children had faced physical abuse. The children have been temporarily housed at a State-run children’s home in city and the two adult bonded labourers are staying at another government shelter. All rescued labourers are awaiting their release certificate after which they will receive their relief funds and be repatriated with their families in Bihar, the revenue department official said.