JAIPUR: Encouraged by the freedom of some of their ilk, 15 bonded labourers have come out in the open at Iklera village in Kishanganj tehsil, Baran. Earlier, 16 other bonded labourers were freed from their employers with the help of the district administration after Mazdoor Haq Satyagragh brought their cases to light.
All the 15 labourers are from Sahariya families, six of whom came to Iklera on December 7 and nine families arrived on December 18. However, this time the district administration has allegedly been insensitive and, according to activists of some NGOs, Baran collector Naveen Jain warned these families not to stay on in Iklera.
"Clearly, the district administration is taken aback by such a flow of bonded labourers from the district. In the days to come we are sure hundreds of such cases are bound to come to light indicating how rampant this problem is in Baran district," said Renuka Pamecha of the Suchna Evum Rozgar Ka Adhikar Abhiyan, an NGO working for freeing such labourers.
"On December 20, Baran collector Naveen Jain visited Iklera, where the 16 released bonded labourers were working at a MGNREGA site. On finding an additional 15 Sahariyas had come to Iklera in the hope of being freed, Jain warned them against staying on in Iklera. He threatened to pull down their makeshift living arrangements, asked them to go back to where they had come from, saying or else the administration will bring trucks and transport them to kalapaani,'' she added.
The activists alleged the collector even confronted Mamta Bai of Jagrut Mahila Sangathan who had helped 16 Sahariya families reach Mazdoor Haq Satyagraha in October saying that if she continues this way not only would she be in trouble but she would put others into trouble too.
"The district administration has refused to acknowledge that these 15 Sahariyas are bonded labourers. Of 15, the district administration claims to have investigated details of six families who had come to Iklera on December 7. The collector says these Sahariyas were driving trucks and tractors and not working as bonded farm labourers," said Gyarsi Bai of the Jagrut Mahila Sangathan.
However, the Jagrut Mahila Sangathan and Mazdoor Haq Satyagraha, other NGOs working for the cause, claimed to have details of bonded debt and names of the employers of each of the 15. The NGOs claim that these families are made to slave as farm hands, domestic helps, drivers without wages, in return for an advance.
So far the Baran district administration is yet to file a single FIR against the landlords or employers of the 16 families where these people were working though it has issued bonded labour release certificates to them. The administration has also sought Rs 2 lakhs to survey the area for more bonded labourers.
Sorce-
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/More-bonded-labourers-seek-freedom-in-Baran/articleshow
/7153693.cms#ixzz1909ppjnh
Latest news about nrega, nrega comments, nrega news photos, nrega news stills and nrega videos.,Get all the latest news, stories and web pages tagged with NREGA on Zee News,Get Latest NREGA photos, Watch NREGA videos, Pics, Images,,Pictures, Video Clips, NREGA Wallpapers,The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee,Act (MGNREGA) is an Indian job guarantee scheme, National Rural Employment Gurantee Act (NREGA)
All the 15 labourers are from Sahariya families, six of whom came to Iklera on December 7 and nine families arrived on December 18. However, this time the district administration has allegedly been insensitive and, according to activists of some NGOs, Baran collector Naveen Jain warned these families not to stay on in Iklera.
"Clearly, the district administration is taken aback by such a flow of bonded labourers from the district. In the days to come we are sure hundreds of such cases are bound to come to light indicating how rampant this problem is in Baran district," said Renuka Pamecha of the Suchna Evum Rozgar Ka Adhikar Abhiyan, an NGO working for freeing such labourers.
"On December 20, Baran collector Naveen Jain visited Iklera, where the 16 released bonded labourers were working at a MGNREGA site. On finding an additional 15 Sahariyas had come to Iklera in the hope of being freed, Jain warned them against staying on in Iklera. He threatened to pull down their makeshift living arrangements, asked them to go back to where they had come from, saying or else the administration will bring trucks and transport them to kalapaani,'' she added.
The activists alleged the collector even confronted Mamta Bai of Jagrut Mahila Sangathan who had helped 16 Sahariya families reach Mazdoor Haq Satyagraha in October saying that if she continues this way not only would she be in trouble but she would put others into trouble too.
"The district administration has refused to acknowledge that these 15 Sahariyas are bonded labourers. Of 15, the district administration claims to have investigated details of six families who had come to Iklera on December 7. The collector says these Sahariyas were driving trucks and tractors and not working as bonded farm labourers," said Gyarsi Bai of the Jagrut Mahila Sangathan.
However, the Jagrut Mahila Sangathan and Mazdoor Haq Satyagraha, other NGOs working for the cause, claimed to have details of bonded debt and names of the employers of each of the 15. The NGOs claim that these families are made to slave as farm hands, domestic helps, drivers without wages, in return for an advance.
So far the Baran district administration is yet to file a single FIR against the landlords or employers of the 16 families where these people were working though it has issued bonded labour release certificates to them. The administration has also sought Rs 2 lakhs to survey the area for more bonded labourers.
Sorce-
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/More-bonded-labourers-seek-freedom-in-Baran/articleshow
/7153693.cms#ixzz1909ppjnh
Latest news about nrega, nrega comments, nrega news photos, nrega news stills and nrega videos.,Get all the latest news, stories and web pages tagged with NREGA on Zee News,Get Latest NREGA photos, Watch NREGA videos, Pics, Images,,Pictures, Video Clips, NREGA Wallpapers,The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee,Act (MGNREGA) is an Indian job guarantee scheme, National Rural Employment Gurantee Act (NREGA)