Four labourers detained in Puducherry

BALASORE: Four labourers, all below 20 years of age, from Nilagiri area of the district have allegedly been detained by a private company in Puducherry.Source said Chandrakanta Patra (16), Niranjan Biswal (17), Mithun Biswal (13) and Sushanta Madhei (13) of Sripati village under Matiali panchayat were lured by two contractors of the area on the pretext of providing jobs in a private company at Puducherry four months back.While Chandrakanta and Niranjan were studying in a private college here, Mithun and Sushanta in Class VIII. Their family members alleged that the local contractors had handed over them to another contractor of Kakatpur area at Puducherry who engaged them in an iron rolling mill for Rs. 5,000 a month.    “But instead of paying them the amount, the contractor has kept them as bonded labourers by taking Rs. 50,000 from the mill owner. The children are being forced to work without any pay for 12 hours a day,” said Banshidhar Biswal, father of Niranjan. The local contractors are absconding.The family members came to know about the children’s plight after one of them informed his parents about the situation over telephone recently. Though the parents have been running from pillar to post to get their children rescued, the administration is yet to take any measures. A local politician also assured them to rescue the children, but to no avail. Meanwhile, they have appealed to the local labour officials and police for the release of children. District Labour Officer (DLO) S K Choudhury said he had directed Nilagiri rural labour inspector Nikunja Prasad Giri to ensure safe return of the children.  Earlier, 21 labourers from Nilagiri block of the district were rescued from Chennai after the Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu intervened. They were detained by labourer contractors and engaged in a private company for a pittance.