KRISHNAGIRI: Revenue officials from Hosur and Royakottai police rescued over ten Dalits who worked as bonded labourers in an NHAI project in the district. The rescued persons are from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and have been working on the Adhiyamankottai-Royakottai road project.
On Tuesday, the National Adivasi Solidarity Council (NASC), an NGO working for abolishing bonded labour, alerted Hosur Sub Collector R Saranya that bonded labourers have been working in the highway project. Following this an investigation was conducted and over 10 bonded labourers were rescued.
Sub Collector Saranya told TNIE, "We had found 10 people belonging to the Scheduled Caste Community working in the road project and they had been living in inhumane conditions. The 10 people had previously borrowed money from a person, as a form of repayment they had been working for the contractor. In our investigation, we found that the bonded labourers were paid Rs 200 per day and from this, Rs 100 would be taken as part of the debt payment. Further, the bonded labourers were confined to makeshift camps which lacked even the most basic amenities like water or hygiene. While the labourers were provided with food, they were denied medical treatment."
Officials added they are given a day's rest only after fifteen days of work and even on that day, they are not permitted to leave the work site. They were confined in a makeshift tin sheet-covered enclosure. Moreover, each of these labourers was forced to work nearly 14 to 15 hours every day, they said.
Following the investigation, K Senthilkumar, Village Administrative Officer of Odaiyandahalli panchayat filed a complaint with the Royakottai police. Cases were registered on Thursday against D Srinivasan, P Gangatharan (24) and V Shthulu (30) all natives of Ethla village in Vanaparuthy district in Telangana.
Further, a case has also been registered against labour in charge M Parappa (58) from Karnataka under sections 16,17,18 of the Bonded Labour System Abolishment Act 1976 and IPC 374 for unlawful compulsory labour.