MADURAI: Five persons who were rescued from bonded labour in Melur three years ago could not take part in the democratic process on Thursday as they have not yet received the basic documents, including voter ID.
The five, including three brothers- Guna (24), Thirumoorthy (20) and Prakash (19)- were merely eight to 13 years old when their parents- Veeran and Selvi- joined as workers in a brick kiln at Singampunari in Sivaganga in 2015.
Their elder sister, M Maheshwari (32), who was also stuck there with her husband Muthukaruppan (41), told TNIE that her siblings could not go to school after joining the kiln. "We spent every waking moment working either in the kiln or in the farms of the owners and their relatives. We were not even allowed to care or feed our children," she added, referring to her children and that of her brothers Guna and Thirumoorthy, who were later married to Kayalvizhi (22) and Vijayashanthi (20) respectively.
Their struggles did not end even after they were rescued in 2023. They were handed Rs 30,000 cash along with a patta for two cents of land for each family. However, the assurance remains on paper and they do not know when they would be able to see the land promised to them, Maheshwari said.
Most of her family members, except Prakash whose Aadhaar application has been rejected more than twice, received Aadhaar card a month ago. But when they sought ration cards and other documents, the authorities of Melur taluk office told them to come back after the elections as they were busy with poll-related work, Muthukaruppan alleged.
In the absence of a ration card, the siblings, who were only able to get jobs in construction sites, could not avail of government benefits and are struggling to make ends meet.
A Jeevanandam (51), a social activist from Sivaganga, who is engaged in rescue and rehabilitation of bonded labourers, told TNIE that many rescued bonded labourers who have not been provided with patta and other benefits migrate in search of work and therefore missed the SIR drive, resulting in removal of their names from the voters' list. Some of them do not even have voters' ID.
District Election Officer and Collector KJ Praveen Kumar and Melur Tahsildar were not available for a comment.
