25 Odia migrant labourers stuck in Karnataka brick kiln, seek govt help to return home

As many as 25 migrant labourers from Odisha, who had gone to work in Karnataka and got stranded there, have requested the state government to rescue them. 

All the stranded labourers are residents of Munikel and Katangapali villages in Bargarh district. 

According to sources, a labour contractor had assured the labourers of good wages in Karnataka.

Accepting the offer, the labourers went to Karnataka’s Jujugunda Tarad area and worked in a brick kiln. However, it was alleged that the labourers were not provided with any wages as promised by the contractor. 

Some labourers managed to return to Odisha, however, 25 of them remained stuck there. The stranded labourers requested the Odisha government to rescue them. 

“The contractor came to our village and promised us that he would pay us Rs 40000 each as wage. Believing him, I took my cousins and other villagers with me to work there. But, we were not given any wage for three months and not given proper facilities to stay. Few of us managed to escape and came back to Odisha, but my relatives and others were still stuck there. We request the Odisha govt to bring them back,” said a relative of the labourer.