Migrant Labourers Face Heat, Exploitation in North Telangana Brick Kilns
Children, pregnant women bear brunt, labour dept supervision found lacking
SATHNALA (ADILABAD): Migrant labourers employed in brick kilns across north Telangana are working under severe conditions, with several instances indicating bonded labour practices and lack of basic amenities.
Labourers were found working in extreme temperatures, with the erstwhile Adilabad district recording around 46.5°C amid heatwave conditions. Many families live in temporary huts covered with tarpaulin and iron sheets near kiln sites, where temperatures are higher due to continuous firing.
Reports indicate that kiln owners often fail to provide basic facilities, forcing labourers, including pregnant women and children, to live in difficult conditions. Children accompanying families lack access to education, while workers faced significant hardship during the Covid period without external support.
Allegations have also emerged of exploitation by kiln owners and middlemen, including instances of physical assault and sexual exploitation when workers resisted or sought to return to their native districts such as Karimnagar, Peddapalli and Adilabad.
The labourers are typically brought in from states including Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Jharkhand, often after advances are paid to their families. The absence of regular supervision by the labour department has been cited as a factor enabling such practices.
Brick kilns are concentrated in the erstwhile Karimnagar, Adilabad, Warangal and Nizamabad districts. In several cases, bonded labourers have been rescued following court directions and intervention by non-governmental organisations.
In one such instance, nearly 100 labourers from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha were rescued on May 19 from five brick kilns in Armoor mandal of Nizamabad district, following directions from the Madras High Court based on a petition filed by relatives.
District magistrate Bharatha Laxmi and police officials, who conducted the rescue, reported finding labourers living in exploitative conditions. The rescued workers were subsequently sent back to their native places.
Officials also observed signs of malnutrition among labourers, including women and children, with many reportedly dependent on limited rations provided by kiln owners.