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On February 9, erstwhile the state was observing 50 years of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act Chamru Majhi, his wife, and their children were rescued from the Moni Brick Kiln successful Aranghata, Nadia. The rescue was a associated effort of respective departments, including Secretary, District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) — Nadia Bidushi Tsering Lepcha and officials astatine the Taherpur Police Station successful Nadia district.
The ceramic kiln is located successful a distant country surrounded by fields and h2o bodies, astir 9.6 km away, and is known to employment mostly migrant workers from Bihar and Jharkhand. After the rescue involution of the administration, an FIR was registered.
Hailing from Hussainabad Sheikhpura successful Bihar, the Majhi household had been trapped successful second-generation bonded labour for the past 17 years. The household was held nether an beforehand bondage strategy aft accepting ₹35,000 from a labour contractor, forcing each household members—including 3 insignificant children—to enactment successful the kiln.
The rescue is simply a reflection of the presumption of bonded labour successful West Bengal, wherever the State remains some a root and destination for bonded labour. Several ceramic kilns and different tiny concern units enactment arsenic the destination for the bonded labour peculiarly from Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha. In March 2025, twenty-eight children were rescued from 2 ceramic kilns successful South 24 Parganas successful West Bengal.
A 2020 study estimated that West Bengal has astir 11,000 ceramic kilns employing astir 0.8 cardinal workers. The survey documented debased regular wages, agelong moving hours, restrictions connected workers leaving kiln premises during the season, and constricted entree to healthcare and maternity benefits.
Also read: India’s shame — the trap of bonded labour
From restaurants to saccharine shops to beverage gardens and Makhana processing units betwixt 2023 and 2026 January, 76 bonded labourers person been rescued from West Bengal.
The State is besides a root of youths who extremity up being bonded labourers, peculiarly successful the jewellery manufacturing units successful Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Between 2019 and 2024, 143 boys from West Bengal were rescued successful 4 abstracted operations: 60 successful September 2019, 22 successful February 2023, 54 successful July 2023 and 7 successful November 2024.
All the survivors were issued bonded labour merchandise certificates by the Tamil Nadu authorities formally recognising them arsenic victims of bonded labour and entitling them to rehabilitation and ineligible protection. Some of the youths who person been rescued from Chennai person been provided grooming by the non-governmental organisation and are scripting their occurrence story.
Rights activists and experts who are dealing with the contented of bonded labour accidental that the biggest situation is the denial of immoderate bonded labour practices by the West Bengal Government. In effect to an RTI Ministry of Labour and Employment successful May 2025 suggested the fig of bonded labourers identified and released by the West Bengal government.
Despite being abolished nether the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 1976, bonded labour continues to persist successful hidden, informal sectors, peculiarly affecting the poorest and astir susceptible communities.
