From Bihar to Bengaluru, and trapped in sweatshops

This group of 23 men came down from Bihar to make a living, and was trapped. Promised decent jobs with good pay, they were forced to work in two plastic recycling factories in

Nayandahalli

on

Mysuru Road

, and also live on the premises.

“We lived in the most unhygienic conditions, ate and slept in the cramped factories filled with the stench of chemicals,” said one of the labourers.

While some of them had infectious wounds on their arms and feet, others developed lung disputes and breathing trouble, a result of working in the units without masks, gloves or any other protection.

The men had to work from 9am to 10pm, and were served only rice and dal as food. A 22-year-old labourer who had been working at the factory for three years, said, “I haven’t been able to go home for three years though I begged the owner to let me go home many times.”

“I was severely beaten up after a group of other labourers managed to escape. We were often kept locked in a room and beaten up with sticks when we called our families and told them about our plight, or when we asked for a day’s leave,” said another labourer.

They were rescued and sent home by the

Anti-Human Trafficking Unit

(AHTU) – CID, local police official and the district administration, assisted by International Justice Mission.