Kids among 19 bonded labourers rescued from Anthiyur kiln unit

Acting on a tip-off, surprise checks were conducted at the three brick kiln units located at Muniyappanpalayam village. A team, led by Revenue Divisional Officer MSE Jayaraman, Anthiyur Tahsildar Malathi, Village Administrative Officer Muruganantham and police officials carried out the raid at the brick kiln units.

Following checks, the officials rescued the bonded labourers belonging to nine families. Police identified them as Chinraj (20), his wife Anjali (19), Arasappu (25), his wife Maha (20), Velu (75), his wife Rani (70), son Selvam (28), Viji (20), his wife Poongodi (20), all hailing from different areas in Cuddalore district. Two others, Ellappan and his wife Devi, were from Villupuram district.

The rescued labourers had been working in the units for over five years. They had taken a loan ranging from Rs 2,000 to Rs12,000 from the brick kiln owners Jagan, Kanagaraj and Ramasamy. They were working at the brick kilns to settle their debts.

The labourers were subjected to harassment by owners as they weren’t allowed to go out of the units and weren’t even permitted to attend their relatives’ functions. The children too were not attending schools and were helping their parents at work.

The rescue operations were videographed by the officials. The rescued labourers were brought to Anthiyur Taluk office and efforts are on to send them all to their native villages.

Further inquiries are on to book the brick kiln owners. It was a month ago that 16 bonded labourers from Chhattisgarh were rescued from a cement manufacturing unit in Erode district.