GUNTUR: The long-ignored miseries of the Yanadi tribal community in Andhra Pradesh’s Repalle mandal resurfaced this week when an elderly ST couple, Namburu Padma and Agni, stepped forward and alleged that they had been held in bonded labour for nearly 15 years.
Their harrowing experience has cast light on the larger, systemic exploitation of over 400 tribal families in the region.
At a public grievance redressal meeting at the Bapatla Collectorate, the couple revealed they were taken from their native Bobbarlanka village to Elisetidibba in Krishna district under the pretext of employment.
There, they were forced to hunt for crabs and forest produce in the mangrove forests without wages, but receiving only meagre rations like rice and vegetables.
What followed was even worse as Padma and Agni had alleged that they were “sold” multiple times - from one middle man to another middle man for Rs 40,000, then to another man for Rs 70,000, and finally for Rs 1.2 lakh.
Over 400 ST families still living in near-isolation; collector orders probe
After returning to their village recently with the help of tribal activists, they were allegedly threatened and told to either repay Rs 1.2 lakh or go back to bonded labour. While she recently received an Aadhaar card with the help of activists, her husband Agni remains undocumented.
TDP ST Cell district president Tirumalashetty Srinu, who has been closely following the issue, said the suffering of the Yanadi families runs deep and long.
Speaking to TNIE, he said, “These families have been living in silence and fear for years. Middlemen control their lives, threatening them if they try to escape this bonded existence. They don’t have ration cards, Aadhaar, or even access to basic healthcare or education.”
He added that over 400 ST families are still living in near-isolation in the Lanka Vanidibba and Elisetidibba regions, surviving by collecting crabs and forest produce. “They don’t know what freedom feels like. They are paid not in money but in leftover food - just enough to keep them alive for the next day of work,” Srinu said with anguish.
Responding swiftly, District Collector Venkata Murali ordered a comprehensive probe with a special team involving the Revenue, Police, Tribal Welfare, and Labour departments.
Speaking to TNIE, he said, “The team will soon visit the village and the places they had worked to identify the facts. If the claims are proved, strict legal action will follow.”
However, the collector clarified that the district administration had no prior information about the plight of the other families, and facts would only emerge following the investigation.
Meanwhile, ST Commission Chairman Dr D V G Shankar Rao took serious note of the incident and ordered Bapatla officials to submit a detailed report immediately.
Expressing concern, he said, “To hear that tribal individuals are still being sold and forced into bonded labour in this day and age is nothing short of appalling. Such incidents must never be repeated.”