Palghar tribals rescued from bonded labour at Surat brick kiln

An interstate trafficking ring involving bonded labourers has surfaced in Palghar district where povertystricken tribals were coerced into working in inhuman conditions at a brick kiln factory in Surat Gujarat Seven workers and four children between the ages of 15 months and five years have been rescued with the help of activists from the Warli community an indigenous group primarily found in Thane and Palghar districts as well as parts of GujaratThe brick kiln facility in Surat where the labourers were allegedly made to toil PicsHanif PatelTribal activists along with those who have been rescued said that more povertystricken families from Palghar and Dahanu talukas are still trapped at various brick kilns where they are forced to work without proper food or adequate sleep ldquoTwo underage children have been forced to work at a Surat brick kilnrdquo said 25yearold complainant Nitesh Chimbate who somehow managed to escape from a heavily guarded kiln where the owner Jigneshbhai Prajapati had allegedly installed CCTV cameras to prevent workers from dozing offThis is reportedly the first case of interstate bonded labour registered at various police stations in Palghar in recent history Though a first information report FIR was registered at Manor police station in the early hours of Thursday the cops failed to add the Interstate Migrant Workmen Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service Act 1979The caseIn his statement to Manor police Nitesh said that Prajapatirsquos agent had paid him Rs 10000 in advance in June 2024 asking him to be ready for the work at his Surat setup ldquoMy neighbour Dinesh Rasal had told me that labourers were wanted at Prajapatirsquos brick kilnrdquo said NiteshThe rescued tribal workers from Palghar district and their familiesldquoAt the same time some of my relatives and neighbours agreed to work But we were not paid properly by Prajapatirdquo Nitesh alleged A tribal activist Vijay Jadhav from Shramjeevi Sangathana said ldquoThe advance was given to these tribals in June last year to ensure they would not work for othersrdquoldquoIn November Prajapati came to the tribalsrsquo village Wadakhadkona in Palghar telling them to accompany him to Surat When they told Prajapati and his agent Mukesh that they couldnrsquot go to Surat because field work was pending they were threatened to face dire consequencesrdquo Jadhavrsquos colleague Suresh Barde allegedldquoSince these tribals are illiterate the brick kiln owner exploited their poverty Their hands and legs were tied with a rope and they were bundled into an Eicher tempo and taken to Suratrdquo Barde addedAfter reaching Surat the tribals learnt that many other tribal families from Palghar district were being forced to work round the clock at Prajapatirsquos brick kiln setup which is spread over several acresThe Suratbased brick kiln pays a Palgharbased tribal an advance to secure his labour in June 2024 Five months later the former visits Palghar and bundles povertystricken tribals into a tempo IllustrationsUday MohiteNitesh said the men were made to do gruelling work including moulding and firing clay under harsh conditions ldquoWhenever we tried to rest after a tiresome day of work Prajapatirsquos canewielding guards would assault usrdquo said NiteshMeanwhile Barde said ldquoI have been told that CCTV cameras were installed near the labourersrsquo huts and a guard would monitor them on a TV screen If anyone fell asleep in a hut the guard would cane them and force them to workrdquolsquoI get goosebumpsrsquoNitesh added ldquoWe were never treated properly at the worksite where we were treated like dirt If any of us fell sick we were never taken to the hospital on time Even if the ailing person was admitted to a hospital their relatives were not allowed to meet them This was truly atrocious I get goosebumps recalling those daysrdquoA canewielding guard tyrannises the bonded labourers who are monitored by a CCTV camera in SuratIn the FIR Nitesh said that his uncle Krishna Chimbate working at the same place fell sick and was admitted to a hospital ldquoBut we were never allowed to see him at the hospital Later we learnt that my uncle had gone missing from the hospital We have registered a missing complaint at Mahuwa police station in SuratrdquoIn a desperate bid to search for his uncle Nitesh set everything aside and dared to defy the guards and escape from the kiln in January While returning to Palghar Nitesh bumped into a group of tribal activists from Shramjeevi Sangathana who helped him register an FIR at Manor police stationldquoWe have managed to rescue seven Nitesh Chimbate Rupesh Chimbate Ranjana Chimbate Ladku Chimbate Bhavna Pagi Ranjit Pagi and Krishna Chimbate After the FIR was registered we learnt that Krishna Chimbate whose missing complaint was registered in Surat had escaped from the hospital to avoid returning to the brick kilnrdquo said BardeA guard checks live footage a labourer escapes the heavily guarded brick kilnToddlers deathBarde said an eightmonthold Mehul Mahendra Rahe died at a Suratbased brick kiln where his mother Rasika had been working as a bonded labourer ldquoThe constant exposure to smoke and toxic fumes from the burning of clay and fuel can lead to respiratory issues eye problems and other chronic illnesses Children living in or around brick kilns are vulnerable to air pollution which can affect their growth development and overall health These children often have limited access to medical carerdquo said Jadhav More than 50 povertystricken tribals are allegedly being forced to work at brick kilns adjacent to Prajapatirsquos setupThe escapee reaches Manor police station in Palghar where the FIR is registeredPolice SpeakThe Sub Divisional Police Officer SDPO Palghar taluka Abhijeet Dharashivkar said ldquoBased on the complaint received we have registered an offence under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bonded Labour System Abolition Act as well as Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act If required we will add the Interstate Migrant Workmen Act to the FIR No arrest has been made in this case as our investigations are underwayrdquoNitesh Chimbate the complainant PicHanif PatellsquoDearth of workersrsquoThe chairperson of the Tribal Development Review Committee in Maharashtra Vivek Pandit said ldquoThere is a huge dearth of workforce in Surat so opportunists have been eyeing the poor tribals in Palghar The state government must look at this seriouslyrdquo