Kendrapara: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has sought Action Taken Reports (ATRs) from the Chief Secretaries of Odisha and Telangana on the extreme sufferings of migrant labourers. Acting on a petition filed by rights activist Radhakanta Tripathy, the NHRC March 31 sought the ATR within four weeks from the authorities of both Odisha and Telangana on two incidents cited by him. In one incident, a family went to work in Telangana where the husband died. The wife brought the body to Odisha but the owners of the brick kiln forcibly kept her daughter as a bonded labourer to get back his money.
In another incident, one woman was forced to pawn two of her sons with a neighbour to feed other children. Shukadev Parabhue of Banmal village under Belapada block of Bolangir district along with his wife Usha, a son and a daughter, had migrated to work at a brick kiln in Telangana after taking Rs 60,000 in advance through local labour agents. Due to overwork, Shukadev fell ill and succumbed to his illness March 8.
After knowing that the kiln owner was planning to bury his body after post-mortem at the nearby hospital, Usha pleaded before him to allow her to take the body back to the village. Usha returned to the village along with her son Pabitra (6) and her husband’s body but the kiln’s owner forcibly kept her daughter Kaikeyi (12) as a bonded labour to get back his money.
In another incident, a widow was forced to pawn hertwo minor sons for money to perform the last rites of her husband at Champua in Keonjhar district January 26, 2016. Sabitri Nayak, a tribal from Gadhuli village in Keonjhar district, pawned her sons Mukesh (13) and Sukesh (11) to her neighbour for Rs 5,000 to perform the last rites of her husband, Raiba. Raiba died January 26, 2016 after a long illness that drained the family’s meagre resources and forced Sabitri to withdraw her children from school as she could not get any government support. The two pawned brothers are looking after the cattle of the neighbour who helped Sabitri with the money. Sabitri approached the administration for help but none came forward. It was distressing to see the kids leave their home, to turn slaves to help their mother repay her debt, Tripathy said.