Workers Demand Justice and Immediate Repatriation Following Alleged Abuse at Region 7 Quarry

By Travis Chase | HGP Nightly News|

GEORGETOWN, GUYANA – Shocking allegations of human trafficking, starvation, forced labor, and the unlawful seizure of passports involving thirty-eight Indian nationals have triggered an international outcry. The workers, employed at the Ekaa HRIM Quarry in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), are now demanding immediate repatriation to India following a high-stakes political intervention by the parliamentary opposition.

The situation escalated dramatically on Sunday after Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed, accompanied by We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) Members of Parliament Odessa Primus, Vishnu Panday, and Nandranie Singh, held an emergency meeting with the Acting High Commissioner of India to Guyana.

During the diplomatic engagement, the opposition leadership laid out a definitive list of demands to ensure the safety and dignity of the affected nationals. The core mandates presented include:

• The immediate return of all confiscated passports to the workers.
• Full liquidation of all outstanding wages and financial compensation for breaches of employment contracts.
• Financial restitution for the alleged inhumane treatment and psychological trauma endured.
• Provision of return airfare to India for all thirty-eight individuals.

The Opposition Leader has issued a strong call to action, demanding that the Ministry of Labour, the Guyana Police Force, the Indian High Commission, and international human rights watchdogs launch an immediate, independent, and transparent investigation into the operations of the quarry.

According to direct testimonies from the job site, the thirty-eight laborers were subjected to severe human rights violations. The workers claim that management routinely withheld their salaries, denied them basic food and clean drinking water, and forced them to live and work in highly hazardous conditions.

In a desperate written appeal smuggled out of the camp and sent to the Toshao of Batavia Village, the workers detailed a harrowing environment of starvation and fear. They alleged that quarry management threatened them and demanded a sum of $5,000 USD from each worker as an “exit fee” before allowing them to leave the compound.

Compounding the severity of the crisis, the workers disclosed that the extreme operational pressure has already turned fatal. They alleged that one of their colleagues, Sekhar Chhetri, died as a direct result of being forced to work under extreme, unsafe duress without adequate medical care or rest.

The WIN parliamentary opposition is maintaining an unyielding stance on the matter, declaring that the state must act swiftly to prevent a diplomatic crisis. The opposition emphasizes that the only acceptable resolution is the safe, dignified return of every single worker to India, paired with immediate criminal charges laid against the owner and management of the Ekaa HRIM Quarry.