Five migrant families of Barpadar village in Nuapada district with their seven children have been kept on bondage by a brick kiln owner named Selayanketa Rao of Redigudam village near Sitarampuram under Vijayawada district of Andhra Pradesh.
These families, who left their village after Dipavali, are working there for last three months day in and day out under unhealthy circumstances. They agreed to work for the contractor with the condition that the contractor would pay them Rs18, 000 each as labour payment and in addition, the travel cost as well as the cost to be paid to the police during the journey. Besides, the contractor had also assured them of proper shelter, water and electricity.
“However, contrary to the assurances, the contractor cheated us in every front. He paid us only Rs 1 lakh as labour payment for 11 labourers and the living condition there is terrible — there is neither water nor electricity,” said Hutasan Nial, who acted as the mediator for the migrants to deal with the contractor.
Hutasan along with two other members of the group returned to his village on Tuesday morning. Kuni Nial, one of the workers fell ill in the kiln a few days ago. When she did not get well after primary treatment, the contractor scolded her for being sick and asked her husband Khyama to take her back to Odisha. Hutasan took permission from the contractor to see off the couple to the railway station and came back to his village without informing the contractor. “The owner had ordered me to return to the kiln after leaving my wife in village, how can I leave her without treatment and go back,” asked Khyma.
“The contractor forces us to start work early in the morning at 3 am and does not permit a few minutes off till 10 am and in the afternoon again we start from 3 pm and work till 11 at night,” said Khyama.
Altogether we can make a maximum of 25,000 to 28,000 bricks in a week, but he tortures us for not making 50, 000,” added Khyama. Both said that their minor children are also forced to work in the kiln to reach the target.
Both Hutasan and Khyama are afraid of returning to the kiln but they said they didn’t have any alternative. “We have already requested the contractor to take back the advance of Rs1 lakh and leave all our family members, but he is not agreeing,” they said.
Hutasan’s old parents and two children below 4 years are regularly falling sick but the contractor is not in a mood to leave them unless the target is reached.