CHENNAI: In a major rescue operation, fifty-one bonded labourers belonging to Irular tribal families, including 28 children, were rescued from a brick kiln in Anguchettipalayam near Panruti in Cuddalore district following a covert operation carried out by the Revenue department and the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA). Officials said none among those rescued possessed Aadhaar cards, ration cards or voter IDs.
"There is no proof of their existence as citizens," said DLSA secretary Jenitha. According to officials, the rescued families originally lived less than half a kilometre from the kiln site, brought into the kiln six years ago, and made to share four small rooms which had no doors and no access to clean water. Several children had spent nearly their entire lives inside the kiln premises, officials said, with some even born there. These families have had little exposure to the outside world despite Panruti town being located barely 1.5 kilometres away. They don't even know who CM-elect Vijay is.
"Some said they had not bathed in 10 days, some in 15 days, and some even for a month," the DLSA secretary said. Workers were made to bathe in stagnant yellow water collected in pits formed after soil excavation inside the kiln premises.
Authorities found six or seven infants during the rescue operation, along with teenagers aged between 15 and 18. Officials said they initially expected around 20 people at the site. "From the outside, it did not appear large. But once inside, it stretched across nearly 30 to 50 acres with around 10 kilns functioning within the premises," said the Secretary. Officials said workers were spread across the vast area, and there were no outside labourers employed apart from the rescued families. "We conducted a raid without informing local police beforehand, fearing information could leak in advance," the DLSA secretary noted.
The rescued families had allegedly been brought to the kiln nearly six years ago after receiving advances ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000. A husband and wife together were expected to cut nearly 1,500 bricks a day. Children were engaged in turning freshly cut bricks for drying, stacking them inside kilns and transporting them using carts and barrows. "Because they are small, they were made to climb and stack bricks higher," an official said. The workers were paid only Rs 500 at the end of the week, irrespective of the amount of work carried out.
The matter surfaced after a woman worker bitten by a Kattuviriyan (Common Krait) snake was admitted to the Panruti Government Hospital. Following delays in receiving medical attention, the district's One Stop Crisis Team, which included eight different departments, conducted rescue operations.
In connection with the alleged bonded labour practices, a case has been filed against the accused Ramakrishnan and Harikrishnan, the father-son duo. While the father has been arrested, Harikrishnan reportedly escaped. Authorities said release certificates are expected to be issued shortly.