New Delhi, Apr 4: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Wednesday sent a notice to the Chief Secretary of Bihar, Ashok Kumar Choudhary, over media reports which said that one farm worker had been repaying 40 kgs of rice with 27 years of bonded labour in a village about 60 km from Patna.
Observing that it raises serious issue of violation of human rights of the bonded labourers, the Commission has given two weeks time for reply from Choudhary.According to media reports at least couple of farm workers at Paipura Barki village in Bihar have not been able to throw off bondage even though they have worked for nearly three decades for their "masters". The report said that one Jawahar Manjhi, now 45-year-old, had taken rice as loan from the local moneylender for a wedding 27 years back, when he was a teenager. At that time, it was decided that Manjhi would work in the lender's field and repay with his labour. He would be given one kg of rice, which is one-third of the normal payment of three kgs for a day's work. Since then, he has been working six days a week, eight hours a day but the loan remains to be repaid. However, he does not know how much he has repaid and how much he owes to the lender. Manjhi cannot get away and his wife fears that her sons would also become bonded labourers as there is no money in the house.
Observing that it raises serious issue of violation of human rights of the bonded labourers, the Commission has given two weeks time for reply from Choudhary.According to media reports at least couple of farm workers at Paipura Barki village in Bihar have not been able to throw off bondage even though they have worked for nearly three decades for their "masters". The report said that one Jawahar Manjhi, now 45-year-old, had taken rice as loan from the local moneylender for a wedding 27 years back, when he was a teenager. At that time, it was decided that Manjhi would work in the lender's field and repay with his labour. He would be given one kg of rice, which is one-third of the normal payment of three kgs for a day's work. Since then, he has been working six days a week, eight hours a day but the loan remains to be repaid. However, he does not know how much he has repaid and how much he owes to the lender. Manjhi cannot get away and his wife fears that her sons would also become bonded labourers as there is no money in the house.
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