The 32 bonded labourers rescued from the Sagar Brick Kiln Factory at Kanumpalle in Garladinne mandal of Anantapur district on November 20 have landed in proverbial ‘trisanku’ as pressure from their manpower supplier Sardar Puran Bag at Balangir in Odisha is increasing by the day on them to go back to work at the same place. On the other side the process of payment of ₹1 lakh compensation per rescued bonded labourer, as part of rehabilitation, is taking time.
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“My Aadhaar card has been kept as mortgage when we got the advance money from the Sardar Puran Bag from Khurlumunda village under Tureikela police station limits of Bolangir district and he is now refusing to return it,” Gobardhan Suna told human rights activist Sushant Panigrahi.
Mr. Sushant is trying to get a copy of the Aadhaar and open a bank account for 48-year-old Gobardhan Suna and his wife Savitri and two of their children so that compensation amount can be transferred into their accounts. A Dalit labourer, Gobardhan Suna, along with his wife Savitri and children hailing from Chachrabhatta village under Khaprakhol police station limits in Bolangir district of Odisha were among the 32 rescued from the brick kiln.
Another brick kiln unit at Pamidi in Anantapur district was also employing bonded labourers on similar terms, but as soon as action was taken on Sagar Brick Kiln, owner of the other unit sent back those labourers and temporarily closed down the unit.
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Conditional bail
The owner of Sagar Brick Kiln Velpula Rajasekhar along with two other directors, who were arrested and sent to jail, got conditional bail on Saturday, said Tahsildar R. Madhav Reddy.
While the police registered a case under Section 79 of Juvenile Justice, the Revenue Department is processing another case under the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act.