Twelve Jharkhand Bonded labourers freed in Margao

Combine operation involving Video Volunteers, Bharat Mukti Morcha, Navelim Civic and Consumer Forum, South Goa Collector and Goa Police rescued 12 bonded labourers working for contractor engaged in gutter cleaning work of Margao Municipality. The picture is of 13th July 2013 in Margao taken after the bonded labourers attained freedom and bondages shattered. In the pictures are the laborers and people from above organizations who were part of the team working on this task. Collector directed the police to investigate the matter urgently. 

The labourers, all mulnivasis some of whom are ST and other OBC were all from Jharkand and were tricked into working for Margao Municipality on April 30, 2013 on contract basis with irregular payment. Irregular payment stopped completely from June 13, 2013 and they were paid at the Margao police station by contractor.

On June 25, 2013 these laborers were made to work for twenty-four hours in heavy rains, without any protection to hands and legs. Their mobiles and voter identity cards were confiscated by Contractor. They were subjected to physical violence too on number of occasions.

Bonded labour is outlawed and the contractor can face imprisonment up to 1 year jail term besides fine. It is also outlawed by the Indian Constitution.

Gutter cleaning work was traditionally done by SC people but Dr.Ambedkar has changed the lot of the SC people though courageous movement of freedoms.

Contractor were suggesting at the police station that hence forth he will employ ST from Goa - Gawdas to clean gutters of Margao. It is not sure as to why he came to this decision and why he did not think of employing Bamons to clean clean gutter of Margao. After all Margao has been electing Bamons as their MLAs all along for past 50 years. After all Saraswat Brahman Samaj was set in Margao in 1912 and changed its name to Gomant Vidya Niketan in 1962 after Liberation of Goa from Portuguese in 1961 as recorded by Goa's noted writer Ramnath Naik in his book in Marathi - 'मडगाव: काल - आज - उद्या ' 'Margao: Yesterday-Today-Tommorrow'. It is awful that Bamons have not succeeded in training their people to clean the gutters of Margao till date and labour has to be brought from tribes such as Oraon, Ho, Munda and Santhals besides OBC from Jharkhand. or may be their Manusmriti did prevent them from undertaking such an exciting venture. Manusmriti is fit only for burning so that Brahmins can be freed to take up the challenge of cleaning gutters of Margao.

Lets examine the list of bonded labourers, all from Jharkhand state of India were held captive by contractor who is a product of Bamani syustem of contract labour to loot labour : Anil Toppo is ST from Sindega taluka, Nikodim is ST from Khunti Taluka, Nicholas Vilung is ST, Pusa Dhanwar is ST from Gumla Taluka, Sahadev Ghosh is ST from Simdega taluka, Girdari Gop is ST from Gumla taluka, Tijhu Indwar is ST from Gumla taluka, Tilak Badaik is ST from Gumla taluka, Madan Badaik is ST from Simdega Taluka, Jathru Singh is OBC from Gumla taluka, Bharat Sahu is OBC from Gumla taluka and Navin Sahu is OBC from Gumla.

Something is terribly wrong with Goa. This wrong will be set right only when Goa's Bamon Raj is shattered to pieces.