INDIA: Villagers exploited by employment in slave like conditions due to lack of food and terrible living conditions

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received disturbing information through the Peoples Vigilance Committee for Human Rights (PVCHR), a human rights organisation based in Uttar Pradesh, India, about the exploitation and inhumane labour of an entire tribal community in the Chunar and Kodwari villages in the Mirzapur District. The workers are paid Rs. 20, (USD 0.46) per day for bone-crunching work at granite quarries. It is equally disturbing to know that in the recent past, four people have died due to injuries suffered while at work in the quarry, and about 22 others have suffered injuries at work. No compensation has been paid to the victims so far.

Acute poverty, the lack of any other employment opportunity and the absolute absence of other means to feed their family forces these people to work in such conditions where they are exploited beyond the limits of human tolerance. Laws prohibiting child labour and slavery have no meaning in this village. Out of the four dead, two are below the age of 16 and of those who suffered injuries, 10 are in their teens, of which the youngest is just 12 years old. The local authorities keep a blind eye towards this exploitation in spite of several attempts of intervention by local human rights groups. The deceased and the injured are not paid any compensation. 

The AHRC requests for an immediate intervention into this case. The lack of intervention of the local administration responsible for this situation must be investigated into and the responsible officers who failed in discharging their duties must be punished. Also, the granite quarry owners must pay compensation to the injured and the families of the dead workers, and the minimum wage must be strictly enforced according to law.

Urgent Appeals Desk – Hunger Alert
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
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DETAILED INFORMATION:

Victims:
Deceased
1. Mr. Shivaprasad, aged 25 years, son of Mr. Ramswarup, Machuari village, Sonebhadra District, Uttar Pradesh, India
2. Rekha, girl child aged 15 years, daughter of Mr. Rampyare, Kodwari village, Nunhauti, Mirzapur district, Uttar Pradesh, India
3. Sitamani, girl child aged 14 years, daughter of Mr. Mangal, Kodwari village, Nunhauti, Mirzapur District, Uttar Pradesh, India
4. Ms. Kaushalya, aged 30 years, daughter of Mr. Lakshman, Kodwari village, Nunhauti, Mirzapur Distrcit, Uttar Pradesh, India

Injured
1. Mr. Vishram, aged 30 years, son of Mr. Ramdhani, Kodwari village, Nunhauti, Mirzapur District, Uttar Pradesh, India
2. Rita, girl child aged 14 years, daughter of Ramdhani, Kodwari village, Nunhauti, Mirzapur District, Uttar Pradesh, India
3. Mr. Sankar, aged 32 years, son of Mr. Rampati, Kodwari village, Nunhauti, Mirzapur District, Uttar Pradesh, India
4. Ms. Pannadevi, aged 28 years, daughter of Mr. Ramashankar, Kodwari village, Nunhauti, Mirzapur District, Uttar Pradesh, India
5. Gulabi, girl child aged 13 years, daughter of Mr. Ramdawan, Kodwari village, Nunhauti, Mirzapur District, Uttar Pradesh, India
6. Mr. Gulpatti, aged 28 years, son of Mr. Lokpati, Kodwari village, Nunhauti, Mirzapur District, Uttar Pradesh, India
7. Ms. Mangal, aged 38 years, son of Mr. Rupan, Kodwari village, Nunhauti, Mirzapur District, Uttar Pradesh, India
8. Mr. Sankar, aged 16 years, son of Mr. Sampat, Kodwari village, Nunhauti, Mirzapur District, Uttar Pradesh, India
9. Mr. Dharam singh, aged 20 years, son of Mr. Kripa, Kodwari village, Nunhauti, Mirzapur District, Uttar Pradesh, India
10. Mr. Sukhram, aged 16 years, son of Mr. Ramlakhan, Kodwari village, Nunhauti, Mirzapur District, Uttar Pradesh, India
11. Sunita, girl child aged 12 years, daughter of Mr. Ramdular, Kodwari village, Nunhauti, Mirzapur District, Uttar Pradesh, India
12. Mr. Sappu, aged 18 years, son of Mr. Shriram, Kodwari village, Nunhauti, Mirzapur District, Uttar Pradesh, India
13. Ms. Rajkumari, aged 38 years, daughter of Mr. Mishrilal, Kodwari village, Nunhauti, Mirzapur District, Uttar Pradesh, India
14. Mr. Suresh, aged 18 years, son of Mr. Pratap, Kodwari village, Nunhauti, Mirzapur District, Uttar Pradesh, India
15. Sadana, girl child aged 12 years, daughter of Mr. Panna, Kodwari village, Nunhauti, Mirzapur District, Uttar Pradesh, India
16. Mr. Ajit, aged 17 years, son of Mr. Ramcharan, Kodwari village, Nunhauti, Mirzapur District, Uttar Pradesh, India
17. Minnu, girl child aged 14 years, daughter of Mr. Ramsingh, Kodwari village, Nunhauti, Mirzapur District, Uttar Pradesh, India
18. Guddi, girl child aged 12 years, son of Mr. Ramsingh, Kodwari village, Nunhauti, Mirzapur District, Uttar Pradesh, India
19. Mr. Pakhandu, aged 22 years, son of Mr. Kanhaiya, Kodwari village, Nunhauti, Mirzapur District, Uttar Pradesh, India
20. Mr. Lalmani, aged 53 years son of Mr. Baidyanath, Kodwari village, Nunhauti, Mirzapur District, Uttar Pradesh, India
21. Mr. Sankar, aged 32 years, son of Mr. Buddhu, Kodwari village, Nunhauti, Mirzapur District, Uttar Pradesh, India
22. Mr. Ramlakhan, aged 45 years, son of Mr. Suddhar, Kodwari village, Nunhauti, Mirzapur District, Uttar Pradesh, India

Location: Kodwari Village of Mirzapur District, Uttar Pradesh, India

The Chamar tribe in Kodwari village of Mirzapur District in Uttar Pradesh, India is facing extreme conditions due to lack of food and inhuman living conditions. The environment is devastated by environmental degradation and currently huge granite quarries plunder granite from the land thereby adding up to an acute shortage of water. There is no accessible health care system and the local administration has ignored the victims when it comes to subsidized food assistance. Education for children is out of the question. 

Chunnar is known for its pottery and carpet industry. However, employment in these industries is far beyond the reach of members of the Chamar tribe at Kodwari village. Kodwari village is affected by extreme drought. Agriculture, which is the only means of survival for the people, has also lost its relevance due to the lack of cultivable land and water. There is no well for irrigation in Kodwari and the people are totally dependent upon rain. 

The entire tribal community is currently facing acute poverty and starvation. The situation is so dire that in the absence of immediate intervention, the entire community may starve to death. There is no existing public distribution system functioning in this area and no medical facilities are provided by the government in this village. Moreover, the very functioning of the quarry itself is a violation of the Minor Mineral Concession Rules which also have a devastating impact upon the already devastated environment.

The victims have also not been given the benefits of different social security schemes by the state government. Children do not get the benefit of Mid Day meal scheme during the summer vacation in spite of repeated directions of the Supreme Court of India in the case of PUCL v/s Govt. of India (196/2001). In the present session, after the reopening of the primary school from July 1, the Mid-Day meal scheme has not been started. There are no other functioning public welfare schemes for the village and the public distribution shop is not open regularly. Furthermore, although the entire population is poverty-stricken, they are not considered so according to government records. Such deplorable and inhuman living conditions pushed the Chamar to accept whatever job was being offered. As of now, the only job available is the bone crushing work at the granite quarry. 

Working in the quarry is bone crushing especially in the extreme temperate climate. The pay is as low as Rs. 20 (USD $0.46) per day for 10 to 12 hours of work, which also is often not paid since the employer would hold back payment on the ground of loans due. The petty sums paid by the employers as loans are deducted from the wages with high interest. Most families in entirety end up as slaves for the quarry owners and many of the women are exploited. The quarry owners trade their slave families and generations end up in never ending servitude. The state government, as well as the central government of India and local bodies, is aware of this situation, however these bodies are yet to intervene in this situation.

A recent incident, which occurred on July 10, 2005, is a glaring example of the situation of the Chamar tribe working in the quarries in Chunnar. On this day, Mr. Ramvriksha Pal, a supervisor of a quarry contractor, came to Kodwari and offered the villagers the work of loading trucks with boulders. The poor villagers, who are dying of starvation because of drought, had no other work option and thus, readily agreed to load the trucks. Around 65 villagers went to the quarry to load the trucks and by evening they had loaded 3 trucks. Only one trailer was left to be loaded and as it was already dark, the villagers refused to load the trailer. On their refusal, Ramvriksha Pal told the victims that if they did not load the trailer then they wouldn’t receive compensation for whatever work they had done. A few villagers returned to their homes, but around 40 villagers stayed to load the trailer.

Around 11.30 p.m. the trailer was loaded. When the villagers asked for their wages Ramvriksha Pal told them that they would be paid at the place they get down from the trailer for their village.

The driver of the trailer refused to drive the trailer as he was drunk but Ramvriksha Pal forced him to start and drive the trailer. The trailer covered a distance of barely 300 meters when the driver lost control of the vehicle. As a result, the trailer capsized and four persons died on the spot buried under the heap of boulders from the trailer. The rest sustained injuries ranging from heavy to minor and were rescued with the help of people from the neighboring areas. A private practitioner provided first aid to the injured and then, with the help of the villagers, they were taken to the district hospital in two jeeps. 

In the morning, police came to inspect the site of the accident and they sent the dead bodies for post mortem examinations to Chunar. Meanwhile, a large number of people had gathered from the villages hearing about the incident. Most had come to check for their relatives who had come to work as truck loaders. The villagers decided to give a letter to the district administration through their Pradhan (leader) asking for compensation for the deceased and injured, which is yet to be paid.

The accident was reported to the District Magistrate with complete details of the number of persons who died in the accident and those who were injured and undergoing treatment. Compensation for the victims of the accident has been demanded from the Government but so far the Government has done nothing in this regard. Neither has the quarry owner accepted the responsibility to pay.

This accident shows what the community must face in light of the appalling living conditions of the Chamar in Kodwari.  The government has not taken any steps whatsoever to bring any aid to the Chamar community. On the contrary, the government and the local administration ignored the illegal granite mining in the area which in the long run will add up to the increasing water scarcity in the villages. For the claims put up by the relatives of the deceased and the injured, the pleas for compensation have fallen on deaf ears.

Despite the AHRC’s repeated letters highlighting the appalling situation of food related issues, no effective steps have been taken to end the suffering of the people facing this crisis. Many of the government programmes that do exist to assist the poor are besieged by problems of corruption and bureaucracy, which render them futile. Sometimes, when help does arrive, it is much too late. It is indeed unfortunate that the food granaries are full of grains, while endless people are going hungry and many are dying. At present, the issue of ‘Right to Life’, as enshrined in the Indian Constitution, is being completely violated by the government.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh voicing your concerns over the living conditions of Chamar community in Chunnar and Kodwari, and requesting that immediate assistance be provided to the community and the victims of the lorry accident, in particular to ensure that no more such incidents occur. A sample letter follows.

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