34 bonded labourers rescued from brick kiln on border areas of India-Nepal

In a joint operation by Nepal and Bihar police, 34 labourers, working at a brick kiln in the border areas of India-Nepal, were rescued. Labourers, who were forced to work at the brick kiln in Nepal, are residents of Moradabad and Rampur in Uttar Pradesh.

Motihari (Bihar): At least 34 labourers, including children and women, were rescued from a brick kiln on the border areas of India-Nepal, said the police. The East Champaran police handed over all the rescued labourers to the Department of Labour. Out of 34 labourers, 15 were children, 10 women and nine men, he said.

Following the rescue operation, the district administration arranged food, train tickets and Rs 500 for them at the government expense and sent them to their homes. On receiving the information about the labourers, who were working in the brick kiln without food and wages, the District Police, SSB and Nepal police launched a joint operation to rescue workers and send them back to India.

Superintendent of the Department of Labour in Motihari Satya Prakash said, "On receiving the information about forced work in a brick kiln in Nepal, all the labourers were brought to Motihari with the help of the district police. Even in this cold weather, no arrangement for accommodation, food and toilet was made at the brick kiln for them."

"Initially, merely Rs 500 was given by the contractor, the owner of the brick kiln was talking about paying the wages at the end of the month. Due to this, labourers were facing problems and they informed their families over the phone," Satya Prakash said. All the 34 labourers, who were forced to work in the brick kiln in Nepal, are residents of Moradabad and Rampur in Uttar Pradesh.

The labourers were brought to the border areas of Nepal adjacent to the police station area through contractors to work there. On the first day, the contractor left by giving Rs 500 in Nepali currency to all the labourers and after this when they asked for more money, the brick kiln owner was not paying even for the food. The labourers said that the contractor was also not picking up their calls. Hence, the workers told everything to their families and in turn, their family members gave all the information to the district administration.

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