The labourers at Titilagarh railway station. Telegraph picture

Balangir, March 24: Social activists and the Andhra Pradesh government rescued 64 migrant labourers, including 13 children, from a brick kiln in Andhra Pradesh. The labourers reached here today by train.

Off the 64 rescued labourers, nine are from Nuapada district and the rest are residents of Balangir district. The workers were allegedly being subjected to mental and physical harassment by brick kiln owner U. Chandra Reddy in Samshabad of Ranga Reddy district of Andhra Pradesh.

The rescued labourers, who hail from Sargul village of Muribahal block, said that seven families of the village went to work at the brick kiln of U. Chandra Reddy in Samshabad of Ranga Reddy district in November.

“Allured by an advance of Rs 40,000 paid to each family, we went to work at the brick kiln of Chandra Reddy. Little did we know what was in store for us,” said Magan Benia, a rescued labourer. Magan said the brick kiln owner never paid attention to their medical problems, shelter or water.

“We had a hard time there, as the brick kiln owner did not pay any heed to our medical needs or the water problem that is critical there. Instead, he was extracting work from us by making us work beyond fixed hours,” Magan added.

The labourers alleged that they were being paid approximately Rs 250-300 per family per week, a sum that was far less than what had been promised.

It was when the migrant labourers said they wanted to return home for the census exercise last month that the matter came to light. Teja Chattria (27) said that the labourers had pleaded with the kiln owner to allow them to leave for their homes to take part in the census exercise.

“As our repeated pleas fell on deaf ears, some of us decided to flee from the kiln. But we were caught while heading towards the railway station. When we reached the kiln, the kiln owner had hired goons beat us black and blue. From there on, we were constantly tortured by the kiln owner and his helpers,” Teja said.

The matter came to light when some workers contacted their relatives in the village and told them about their plight. Dharma Sahu of Samuhik Marudi Pratikar Udyam (SMPU) of Balangir and another villager travelled to Andhra Pradesh to rescue the workers.

“The officials and police in Andhra Pradesh were very helpful. They were present during the rescue operation and extended all kinds of support,” said Dharma Sahu.

The Andhra Pradesh government labelled the rescued as bonded labourers and released Rs 1,000 per person as compensation for rehabilitation of 49 of them. It is now up to the Orissa government to take steps to rehabilitate them by paying Rs 19,000 per person under the Bonded Labour Act System (Abolition) Act, 1976.