CURRENT NEWS II, Feb 2007

BBC exposes a bonded child slave worker in a silk loom at Kanchipuram and frees him

BBC World Service is planning to broadcast special programmes in connection with the 200th anniversary of abolition of slavery. It is filming slavery conditions that still exist around the world. The BBC South Asian Team was with us for three days in mid February, filming slavery conditions of workers in the silk industry at Kanchipuram.

We showed them many child workers engaged in silk looms. It was all filmed, sometimes openly and sometimes discreetly. BBC proved that they were not just an ordinary media unit, but a socially conscious, proactive friends of victims of our unjust social structure, willing to help them achieve freedom.

The BBC team took the case of child workers in silk looms to the District Collector, Pradeep Yadav, who dismissed saying that there were no child workers at all in Kannchipuram. The BBC team then, showed the film that they had shot in the looms close to the Collector’s office itself. The BBC team went further and produced a child worker, Ashok Kumar in person before the Collector.

The official had no option but to order an immediate enquiry, which was done in a couple of hours and all BBC team said was proved true. Ashok Kumar, the lucky child worker this time, was immediately freed. Rs 1000 was paid to him at once for immediate rehabilitation and another Rs 19,000 will be paid to him soon, in accordance with the Abolition of Bonded Labour Act.

Here is a report of this story covered by The New Indian Express. In the report, read BBC for `up-country media’.

Report in The New Indian Express dated February 22, 2007

 

 

CURRENT NEWS I, Feb 2007