As wait to go home smoulders, brick kiln workers seek Telangana's help

File photoHYDERABAD: As many as 50,000 migrant workers, who have been working in various brick kilns in Telangana, have been desperately waiting to go back to their native places. The workers, especially from Odisha, have urged the state government to send them to their home state. But, the state government is in no hurry to send them and has not even completed registration process.

Though the government had claimed that about 1.50 lakh workers have been sent to their home states in 130 special trains, sources said another 40 special trains are alone required to send brick kiln workers to their home states.

Nearly 80,000 workers from Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra are working in 1,800 brick kilns in districts like Rangareddy, Medchal, Sangareddy, Karimnagar, Peddapalli, Warangal, Nalgonda, Nizamabad and Medak. Of them, 15,000 workers work in RR and nearly 20,000 workers in Karimnagar and Peddapalli districts.

“A majority of the workers hail from the western parts of Odisha. They should be sent to Kantabanji railway station in Balangir district via Mancherial and Balharsha stations or via Raipur in Chhattisgarh. Around 30,000 workers were sent by arranging 24 special trains from Ghatkesar,” a senior government official said.

But, there were allegations that officials coordinating with the migrant workers have not begun the process to send them back to their respective states till Friday. Sources in the labour department said the registration process by police began a couple of days ago and special trains need to be arranged by the government.

“The state government has not even sent a requisition for arranging special trains. While some brick kiln owners dropped the workers on highways, some of them have started going to their home state by arranging their own transportation,” Human Rights Forum Telangana president G Madhava Rao said. He said the labour department is least bothered about health, hygiene, toilets and welfare measures for the workers. “Now, government is ignoring arrangements to send them home,” he said.

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