Hyderabad: Behind the sparkling bangles sold in the bustling markets of Laad Bazaar are dark rooms where trafficked children work as bonded labour or for a pittance. Despite police cracking down on these manufacturing units, bangle traders and agents find new ways to traffic kids and set up new units secretly.
Last week, police rescued 14 children working in a unit that was set up in a residential building in Bhavaninagar to avoid police attention. The children were not allowed to step out so that neighbours do not see them. It is suspected that there are more units active in different areas in Falaknuma and Chatrinaka.
According to sources in the Bhavaninagar police, the agents are controlled by rich traders. “The traders ask the agents to run the manufacturing units independently so that they do not get into legal trouble. The agents have to cut down the manufacturing cost as much as possible and so they employ kids for meagre pay,” said a source.
“There used to be larger manufacturing units with more child labourers, which attracted the local people’s attention. Now, they are setting up smaller units with minimum number of kids, so that they can be controlled and they don't make much noise and attract the attention of others,” he added.
The children are brought to Hyderabad by train. “To avoid railway police surveillance, they bring the kids along with a few adults,” said the source.
South Zone DCP V. Satyanarayana said the children were passed off as family members. But the police is developing strong ground intelligence to bust the trafficking gangs. “We have zero tolerance towards child labour. By January 30, we will bust as many gangs as possible,” he said.
In the last two years, South Zone police has rescued 350 child labourers from Bihar, Jharkhand and Bengal, from manufacturing units located in Chatrinaka, Falaknuma, Bhavaninagar and other areas of the Old City.
Kids start work at 7 am
Children employed in bangle manufacturing units do not earn more than Rs 2,000 a month and live in poor conditions with little contact with the outside world. The agents who run the manufacturing units are usually from Bihar and Bengal and are not paid well. The lion’s share of the profit goes to the trader.
Most of the children say they were pushed into working by their own parents, who needed the money.
The bangle manufacturing unit in Nashemanna-gar, Bhavaninagar, which was raided, was like a prison for 11-year-old Rae-ez and his elder brother Jamal (names changed). They had to wake up at 7 am and work till night.
They lived in a small room with 13 other kids. The two are natives of Purnea district in Bihar. They were only allowed to go out of the building once a week. Raeez was paid '1,500 a month and his elder brother '2,000.
“We were brought to Hyderabad by an acquaintance from our village three months ago. There was so much work to do. We were allowed to go out of the building only on Friday. The agent had clinched a deal with my parents. He sent the money to my home,” said 12-year-old Jamal.
Raeez said, “My father said I was wasting time in my village by playing with my friends. He said I should go to Hyderabad and earn money.”
