Bonded labourers rescued from Fatehpur brick-kiln

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, February 26

The release of labourers from a brick-kiln in the Fatehpur area of Kangra district has resulted in a tiff between a Delhi-based organisation — National Campaign Committee for Eradication of Bonded Labour (NCCEBL) — and the Kangra administration.

The NCCEBL team that conducted the raid with the help of the district administration has accused the local officials of not cooperating and not registering a case against the constructor.

Kangra SP Santosh Patial said the police were looking into the complaint. “The preliminary evidence has not indicated that it was the case of bonded labour. But if there’s any proof, we will register a case,” he said.

Niramal Gorana of the NCCEBL, Delhi, said after receiving information, the convener filed a complaint with the Deputy Commissioner and the SDM of Nurpur on February 24 and 24. The convener and an advocate from the Human Rights Law Network reached Kangra, urging the SDM to constitute a team to rescue the labourers from the Nakodhar brick-kiln. The SDM finally constituted the rescue team, which reached the brick-kiln last evening and recorded the statements of labourers. It was found that three families from Chhattisgarh were trafficked to Himachal through an agent and they were not provided with any wages or basic amenities. The labourers included seven minors, three women, one of whom is nine-month pregnant. They were being forced to work for 17 hours every day.

In their statements, all labourers had written that they wanted to go to their native place. At the last minute, the district administration refused to issue the release certificate and delayed the rescue process up to 6 pm, Gorana alleged.

The administration asked the labourers to stay in the brick-kiln, saying till the labourers were released, the police would be deployed for their protection. However, due to a serious threat to their life, they did not want to stay there. The labourers collected their belongings and started to leave the brick-kiln, while the district administration was simply waiting for the higher authorities’ orders, he alleged.

Gorana said the labourers were now moving to Delhi to file a petition against the authorities at the National Human Rights Commission.