24 families rescued from J&K brick kilnes

Twenty-four families, comprising 91 men, women and children, have been rescued from brick kilnes in the Rajouri district of the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir. They have been brought to Delhi to be sent to their homes in Chhattisgarh.

Of them, 41 are children, some of whom were forced into bonded labour.

The rescue was triggered by Ajay, 25, who was rescued as a bonded labourer from Himachal Pradesh in February. Ajay contacted activists from the National Campaign Committee for Eradication of Bonded Labour (NCCEBL), who had organised his rescue.

Ajay had re-landed in the bonded labour trap as he didn't get proper rehabilitation. This time traffickers had taken him from Ballabgarh, Haryana, to the Rajouri district on the promise of decent work.

He escaped and reached Delhi with Raj Kumar, another bonded labour, and approached the NGO. A rescue team was formed with volunteers from Raigarh, Chhattisgarh, and activists from the NCCEBL and the Action Aid Association (AAA) at Delhi and the two escaped bonded labourers.

Based on letters sent by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the NCCEBL, the Rajouri District Magistrate initiated an enquiry, headed by the Assistant Commissioner, Revenue (ADM), Rajouri.

The bonded labours were rescued on December 26 and December 27 from the CBK Brick Kiln (Tiranga Brick Kiln) in Dhangri village and the BBK Brick Kiln in Sasalkote village in the Rajouri tehsil.IANS