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TIRUNELVELI: A teenage girl from Tirunelveli district, who was sent to work in a textile mill in Erode district under the ‘Sumangali Scheme,' is missing since May 30.
According to the girl's father G. Madasamy of Karumbanur near Alangulam, his 17-year-old daughter was sent to work in a textile unit at Uppupalayam on Sangagiri Main Road in Erode district 26 months ago under the ‘Sumangali Scheme' with the promise that the girl would be given Rs. 48,000 at the end of the third year, besides a monthly salary. The father agreed to it and sent his daughter to the textile mill, where she got Rs. 600 as salary in the first month and was getting Rs. 1,400 in May 2010.
“When my wife Antony Fatima visited our daughter eight months ago, one of the supervisors there scolded my daughter in the presence of her mother, who objected to it immediately. Enraged, the supervisor verbally abused my wife also,” alleged Mr. Madasamy.
Problem started when the girl returned to her workplace on May 30 after visiting her native place on six days leave to celebrate a temple festival.
When she went to the textile mill on May 30 for the 9 a.m. shift, she was asked to report for the shift that used to commence at 2 p.m. and the girl reportedly left for the quarters. After that she could not be traced anywhere.
“Somebody from the mill informed me over the phone that my daughter went missing on May 30 and we rushed to Uppupaalayam immediately after borrowing money from a local moneylender. Despite our best efforts for two days, we could not see our daughter and hence we filed a complaint with the Pallipalayam police station. However, the police also did not take any step to locate my daughter,” said Ms. Antony Fatima.
Director of ‘Vaan Muhil, a Palayamkottai-based NGO, M.A. Britto, who is also the convener of ‘Campaign Against Sumangali Scheme,' said the textile mill administrations were usually employing all sorts of techniques to drive away girls about to complete their third year of service. Erode Superintendent of Police T. Jayachandran assured ‘The Hindu' over phone that all out efforts would be taken immediately to trace the girl.
04 June, 2010 by admin