37 bonded labourers rescued from brick kiln in Vijayanagar village

BALLARI: Thirty seven inter-state labourers, who were in distress, have been rescued from a brick kiln at Nandibanda in Vijayanagara district. They have since been repatriated to their home state.

The Vijayanagara district administration rescued the 37 labourers hailing from Odisha who were working as bonded labourers at a brick kiln at Nandibanda in Mariyammanahalli hobli.

The brick kiln owner, Srinivas, had confined the labourers in sheds and forced them to work. He had brought them from Odisha after paying an advance of Rs 40,000 to each family. He allegedly made them work forcibly and paid each family only Rs 500 per week.

The issue came to the notice of Spandana, and NGO in Belagavi. Following this, Spandana informed the district administration. Based on the information, officials raided the brick kiln and rescued the labourers.

On Thursday evening, Vijayanagara Deputy Commissioner Kavitha S Mannikeri sent the labourers back to Odisha by train. An FIR has been registered against Srinivas, Mahadeva Rao, and Venkata Prasad in connection with the case.