MADURAI: An eight-year-old girl and her six-year-old brother, belonging to a family trapped in bondage in a stone quarry in Karnataka, were rescued by District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) on Monday.
They were rescued after a petition was submitted to Collector K. Veera Raghava Rao last week by the children’s parents, who managed to escape from the quarry a week back.
G. Ellappan (32), the children’s father, said he and his family ended up in the quarry near Malur in Kolar district in Karnataka around three years ago. “The quarry I was working in Madurai got closed. When I went for a relative’s wedding near Kolar, we got stranded without money,” he said.
Based on suggestions by some locals, he ended up in the quarry run by N. Easwar, who gave Ellappan and his wife E. Pushpa employment with a promised wage of Rs. 5 per square foot of stone they broke. However, the couple together were allegedly paid a total of just Rs. 100 per day.
“Apart from quarry work, we had to work in the farm and house of the owner. Every day, we worked from 6 a.m. till late in the night,” Ms. Pushpa said, adding they were made to stay in a small abandoned choultry, without proper roof and walls.
The couple said they were often beaten up when they complained about work or demanded proper wages. “After we made an unsuccessful escape attempt two years back, even our daily wage became irregular,” Mr. Ellappan said.
The couple made good their escape last week after hearing about the death of a relative in Tiruchi. “The owner said either me or my wife could go without the children. However, both of us escaped, hoping that our children could be rescued with help of authorities,” he said.
Appreciating the special team led by District Child Protection Officer M. Viviliyaraja for the rescue in coordination with Karnataka officials, the Collector assured the family that all assistance for rehabilitation, including education of children, would be provided.
The family had also submitted petitions to District Legal Services Authority and Evidence, a non-governmental organisation, which forwarded them to senior officials, including Chief Secretary, seeking immediate intervention.
“Apart from providing compensation to the family, the quarry owner, who is apparently absconding, must be arrested and the remaining families in the quarry freed,”A. Kathir, Executive Director of Evidence, said.
