Andhra Pradesh - Kurnool   

A life full of misery

Staff Reporter

The rape and murder of two girls employed in a cotton field highlights the plight of poor migrant families and the rampant problem of child labour

KURNOOL: The death of two girls employed in the cotton field at R. Pampalli in Uyyalawada mandal exposed the magnitude of child labour problem in the district. The two girls, identified as Yasoda (15) and Syamala (13) were strangled to death after rape.

Yasoda and Syamala who hailed from a poor Scheduled Castes family in Gudur town, 25 km from Kurnool, were compelled to work in the cotton seed fields in the agriculturally rich Nandyal area of the district to escape poverty.

The daily wages for a woman worker during lean season in the Gudur does not cross Rs. 20. On the other hand, a regular employment for three months is assured in the cotton belt for a daily wage of Rs. 50 and three-time meal.

This seasonal employment lured many poor families to send their children, especially girls. Labour contractors mediated contracts between the workers' families and farmers.

The condition of children at the work place, miles away from home, is miserable, as they have to fight insecurity, malnutrition and unhygienic conditions. In the case of Yasoda and Syamala, their brother Krishna and sister Laxmi (16) also lived with them but their presence did not offer any protection. Their mother Tirupathamma, who is mentally ill, could not accompany them.

Leading seed companies get the seed produced from farmers under contract system, who, engage child workers. The companies appear to have turned a blind eye to the serious issue of child labour and mediate through "middlemen". According to recent survey, 34,000 children were outside the school in the district while the actual number could be higher.

The minor interventions to check labour have not yielded any result. The child labour problem is likely to continue as long as families find daily wages more lucrative than education.

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A life full of misery

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