Karnataka: 37 bonded labourers rescued from brick kiln near Hosapete

All labourers hailed from Odisha and were housed in a government hostel, till they were sent back to their state by train on Thursday.

Hosapete (Vijayanagar): The district administration has rescued 37 bonded labourers from a brick kiln at Nandibandi in Mariyammanahalli hobli of the taluk.

All of them hailed from Odisha and were housed in a government hostel, till they were sent back to their state by train on Thursday.

Spandana Association, an NGO, had tipped off the district administration in this regard, following which an operation was launched to rescue them on Tuesday.

The labourers had been locked up in sheds and were made to work in the nearby brick kiln. They were seen off at the railway station here by deputy commissioner Kavitha S Mannikeri, superintendent of police S Jahnavi, assistant commissioner P Vivekananda and other officials.

Srinivas from Nellore in Andhra Pradesh had set up the brick kiln on 2.64 acres owned by Sanna Durugappa and 1.61 acres belonging to the government. Police swung into action following a complaint registered by labour inspector G B Doopad at the Mariyammanahalli station, against Srinivas, Mahadev Rao and Venkat Prasad.