25 years in bondage: The families trapped inside a Karnataka quarry

For nearly 30 years, generations of Bhovi community families were held in forced labor at a Tumakuru stone quarry, enduring daily beatings, 11-hour shifts in all weather, and debts designed to pass down to their children. Among them was 19-year-old Purushothaman, who was forced into manual labor at age nine and made to continue breaking stone even after a severe arm injury, alongside relatives trapped by relentless compound interest.

“I've been working since I was nine years old,” he said.

Five years ago, he broke his arm after falling from a tree. A rod was inserted into his arm, but he was still forced to work.

His father had also worked at the quarry. Purushothaman said that the owner beat him for not working properly. His father later died by suicide at the quarry.

The workers say their bondage was sustained through a system of advances and escalating interest, which they refer to as baddi and chakra baddi – simple and compound interest.

“We work, but when we don't work, they give us some money, and then they add compound interest on top of it,” Palani said.

The debt could be passed from one generation to another. Saraswati, another worker in the quarry, said that her father brought the family to the quarry, where they continued working after his death. When her family later tried to repay a debt, she says the owners refused to accept the money and instead told them to continue working.

“They give more advance and keep us from leaving,” Palani says. “Where can we bring the advance to pay them back?”

The workers said that they worked from around 6 or 7 in the morning until 5.30 in the evening, working through even heavy rain.

The situation came to light after one family escaped to Mangaluru in July 2026. They contacted Shantha Jeeva Jyothi, an NGO that had been investigating the quarry.

The family gave a statement before the District Legal Services Authority. Their testimony helped authorities identify other workers trapped at the quarry.

On July 21, the Assistant Commissioner, police and an NGO team conducted an undercover operation at Survey Number 34. Twelve workers were rescued.

Authorities also found that the quarry was operating illegally on government-owned Gomal land. The site was sealed, and the Mines and Geology Department filed a complaint over the illegal quarrying.

Three people — Chennamma, Shashi and Raghu — face non-bailable offences in the case. However, they later secured anticipatory bail.

The rescue highlighted a larger problem with tackling bonded labour. Lokesh Dhanapal Havale,  a judicial official involved in the case, said weak coordination between government departments often allows such systems to continue.

“Only then can the bonded labour system be completely rooted out,” the official said, stressing the need for departments to work together.

The 12 survivors were issued Release Certificates and provided temporary accommodation, medical care, food supplies and assistance with essential documents. Each also received an initial rehabilitation payment of Rs 30,000.

The government data shows that 3,16,336 bonded labourers have been rescued across India over five decades, including 66,281 in Karnataka, the second highest in the country.

While systemic gaps persist across the country, for the fourteen individuals at Pavasandra, official intervention brought a definitive end to three decades of bondage.