The courage of a 55-year-old bonded labourer and his family paved the way for the freedom of 24 more such labourers, including 12 children, from a woodcutting unit in Sriperumbudur near Chennai.
According to news reports, Rajendran, his wife Manjula and their two children escaped from the woodcutting unit in February after working there for six years. Rajendran had been given an advance of Rs 6,000 by the owner of the unit Murugan and was asked to work there with his family.
After escaping from the unit, Rajendran and his family took shelter at their relative’s house near Mahabalipuram. However, Murugan tracked them down and assaulted them. Members from the left parties in the region then came to the family’s rescue and also alerted the Released Bonded Labourer Association (RBLA). The RBLA volunteers then reported this matter to the district administration and took Rajendran and his family to a safe place.
The Kanchipuram sub-collector, based on the tip-off from RBLA, ordered an inquiry into the issue as well as the rescue of other bonded labourers working at the unit. Following this, the district officials conducted an investigation and rescued six other families from the woodcutting unit. They were all given their release certificates by the sub-collector on April 27 along with free rice and clothes. These release certificates help rescued bonded labourers avail the rehabilitation benefits provided to them by the central and state governments.
The rescued families hail from villages like Nemmali, Padur and Malayankulam in Kanchipuram district and had been working in the unit for two to six years. The rescued children will be enrolled in schools in the coming academic year, the sub-collector told Times of India.
The district officials will also file a police complaint against Murugan, the owner of the woodcutting unit, under the Bonded Labourer System (Abolition) Act 1976 and seek action against him.