Rescue officials say that about 176 families were brought to the kiln by middlemen who lured the families with a Rs. 20,000 advance.
The Tamil Nadu police rescued 563 people including 365 bonded labourers on Wednesday from a brick kiln in the Tiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu. Six people have been arrested, but the owner of the brick kiln is on the run.
The workers rescued hailed from Odisha and Chhattisgarh. Rescue officials say that about 176 families were brought to the kiln by middlemen who lured the families with a Rs. 20,000 advance. After being brought in, the workers were not allowed to leave the kiln premises. Among those found also included 198 children.
N Narayanan, the Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) of Ponneri in Tiruvallur who led the crackdown said: "The families made twenty thousand bricks every week but they were paid a meagre salary of four hundred rupees."
Describing the conditions the workers and their families lived in, he said: "The workers were kept in illegal custody and they were not allowed to move around."
The district administration has housed the rescued families in a wedding hall in the city.
The district administration launched the crackdown following a tip off by International Justice Mission, a non-governmental organisation or NGO. Mathew Joji, Spokesperson of International Justice Mission, said: "Most of them migrated due to poverty and deprivation. Women and children suffered the most."
"While Tamil Nadu leads the country in addressing bonded labour, the issue still persists in the state. A state level action plan and officer is required to address this menace," he added.
Meanwhile, the police has housed the rescued families in a wedding hall in the city. As part of relief aid, district authorities would pay each worker an amount of Rs. 20,000. Each worker would receive Rs. 1,000 today in Tiruvallur along with a release certificate using which they could collect the remaining Rs. 19,000 when they reach their home town in Odisha or Chhattisgarh from the local district authorities.