“The temperature was about 40 degrees Celsius, and many women workers, carrying their kids on their back, were found working in open areas in a brick kiln at Gottumukkala village. There are many human, labour and child rights violations at the kiln,” said Assistant Commissioner of Labour (ACL) D. Anjaneya Reddy.
Our hearts were moved after witnessing the pathetic conditions at the kiln owned by one Mahesh Patel. A few children were seen moving around barefooted in torn clothes and crying for food while some tiny hands were busy arranging bricks in the kilns, the officer explained.
The ACL, who raided the kiln along with his team a couple of days ago, narrated the inhuman working conditions and violation of human rights at the kiln at Kanchikacherla mandal in Krishna district. They freed about 40 labourers of Odisha from the kiln.
‘Grossly underpaid’
“A mediator, Chinta Bagh, engaged us for the work in the kiln in December last year. The owner promised us to give ₹35,000 per head for the season, but gave only ₹5,000 for four months,” said a labourer Bikas Kumbhar.
There were no medical, drinking water, toilets and other facilities at the site. The owner was not maintaining any records on running the kiln and on payments to the workers, said Nandigama Assistant Labour Officer Maheswar Reddy.
“It was almost like an open jail. Mr. Patel arranged a watchman to prevent us from going out of the site. With great difficulty, I escaped from the kiln and took the matter to the notice of Odisha Labour Department,” said another worker Purushottam Kumbhar.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) registered cases for bonded labour and poor working conditions at the brick kilns and quarries in Krishna district earlier, and summoned the officers.
12-hour work shift
“We worked for about 12 hours per day, but the owner has not paid wages as per the agreement.
“Patel has not allowed us to go to our native place and send children to the nearby NCLP School,” the labourers alleged.
“All the labourers should do works such as unloading sand from vehicles, mixing it in water, putting sand paste in moulds, drying bricks, arranging and burning them in kilns and loading them into vehicles,” said yet another labourer Anasuya Tandi.
The labourers, who travelled to Balangir district, thanked the Odisha and the Andhra Pradesh Labour Department officials for responding to their plight and rescuing them from the brick kiln.
