Don’t ‘turn a blind eye’ to bonded labour: SC to Bihar

New Delhi: The Supreme Court told Nitish Kumar government on Tuesday not  to turn a blind eye to the bonded labour in Bihar while focusing on handling migrant workers influx amid covid situation.

The court was dealing with the delay on the part of Bihar and Utter Pradesh in implementing May 11 order of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), asking to rescue and repatriate 187 bonded labourers from brick kilns.

Bihar government said it was busy handling huge influx of migrant labourers. It was then court said not to turn a blind to the problem of labourers working inhuman conditions.

As for Utter Pradesh, Additional Advocate-General Aishwarya Bhat said labourers had already been released and repatriated to Bihar.

First Information Reports (FIRs) had been registered against the owners of the brick kilns, the court was also told.