Gowramma, a 45-year-old woman from Maddur in Mandya district of Karnataka, revealed the harsh details of the torment their family had to undergo since the last year.
Her eldest son was on his deathbed and she had borrowed an amount of ₹20,000 from a local sugarcane contractor for his treatment, and had to pay it off by hard labour. She, along with her husband, toiled on various sugarcane farms across the state for almost 14 hours each day in return for a nominal wage.
When their son passed away last year, their contractor refused to let them go and they had to mortgage their grandchildren and daughter for a day’s leave in order to perform the last rites of their son.
She said that her son was hospitalised in Mysuru hospital for a month. He has consumed pesticide and was on his deathbed. The only way he could recover was a surgery that would cost ₹80 lakhs, so they asked their contractor, their last hope, to loan them the amount. Not only did he refuse to loan them the amount, he even refused to grant her a leave for a month in order to take care of her son.
She tearfully revealed that she couldn't save her son and had to mortgage her daughter and grandchildren.
Her daughter, Mala, 25, also said that they did not even have a home to call their own. They ‘slept in tents, defecated in the open and drank water from a canal.’ Moreover, the owner would sexually harassed the female workers on a regular basis.
However, the darkness of their lives will soon be gone. The matter has been taken up by the IJM, the district administration and they have been rescued by the police. The sugarcane contractor has been convicted.
Pic credit: Hindustan Times
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Heena Manghani is an intern with SheThePeople.TV.
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