Chennai: After spending several years under bondage, as many as 39 people, including 17 children, of nine families breathed the air of freedom after they were rescued from a sugarcane field at Veeradipatti village near Gandarvakottai in Pudukottai district on Friday.

Acting on a tip from a non-government organization, Foundation for Sustainable Development (FSD), revenue officials attached to Gandarvakottai along with police personnel conducted a surprise check in Veeradipatti village. They found the bonded labourers – 22 adults (10 men and 12 women) and their children - working in the sugarcane field. An inquiry revealed that they had been working from four years to 17 years after taking a few thousand rupees as advance from Mahadevan of Thiruvathigai village in Cuddalore district. The children were not allowed to go to school and most of them were forced to work with their parents. "They have taken advances of anything between Rs 2,000 and Rs 10,000 and were working without break for years,” said a volunteer of the NGO.

The bonded labours revealed that they had been taken to several parts of the state to work as agriculture labourers. Mahadevan collected the wages from the farm owners while the labourers survived on a bowl (1 padi) of rice and Rs 30 per family all these years.

Though a few of them were possessing voter identification card, they were not allowed to vote as their movements were restricted. Pakkiri, 45, of Anguchetti village in Cuddalore district said he had been working along with his wife and four children for 17 years for taking a cash advance. They also told the officials that Mahadevan was holding nearly 100 families in bondage. “On several occasions, many of them tried to escape but were tracked down and brought back. The following days would be a nightmare even for women as they would be beaten up,” said the volunteer, citing the bonded labourers’ statements.

After inquiry, the revenue officials have been making necessary arrangements to issue release certificate to the adults and financial aid. Thereafter, they would be taken to their native village and the authorities would take legal action against Mahadevan under the provisions of Bonded Labourer System (Abolition) Act 1976.

