A local contractor looking for daily-wagers to work at a brick kiln in Odisha was an opportunity that Lahre’s village folk could not afford to miss. For Lahre, it was more like a family tradition, given her parents and elder sisters had worked at brick kilns earlier.
Lahre had completed her Class 12 and was working as a computer operator, when her family wanted her to stop venturing out for work. The contractor’s job offer and a promise of ₹20,000 as advance payment felt more appealing to the family.
Paucity of work in the village prompted Lahre and 12 others, including a minor girl, to head to Odisha. But instead of reaching the designated Talcher in Odisha, they were loaded onto a bus and taken to an unknown location near a sea.
“There was a house of unbaked bricks and a platform. We were told to stay there. The first day was fine but the next morning each one of us were allocated work without a word on the advance payment we were supposed to be given,” Lahre recalled.
The owner of the kiln told Lahre’s group that the contractor who promised them their advance had fled with his ₹5 lakh and that they would have to work at his kiln to compensate him.
Source: Barandbench
