Puducherr

Bonded labourers rescued from Cuddalore

They been provided with release certificates

The Cuddalore district administration rescued 19 bonded labourers who were working as woodcutters in a village in Cuddalore district on Monday. All of them have been provided with release certificates and sent to their hometown.

The Released Bonded Labour Association (RBLA) received information about bonded labourers working in a casuarina grove in Thiruvamoor village in Cuddalore district. “For the past one month I have been tracking them. Our members found out that out of the 19 members, 9 are from Tiruttani and there are four children among them. The remaining 10 are from Andhra Pradesh and there are two juveniles in their group,” said A. Sampath, a RBLA member.

He said that Venugopal Naidu and Nagarjuna Naidu had employed them. “While the group from Tirutanni have been working in Cuddalore for the past seven years, the one from Andhra Pradesh have been labourers for the past twenty years. They literally pleaded for help as they were struggling without money and food,” he said.

The information was passed on to the local administration and the Cuddalore Revenue Divisional Officer and the police rescued them on Monday night. “Their release certificates were given and they have been sent home. The police are searching for Venugopal Naidu and Nagarjuna Naidu,” added Mr. Sampath.

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