It was organised by the Prayas Centre for Labour Research and Action: an organisation working for the welfare of the cotton industry workers.

In their testimonies, the workers narrated how they were neither issued the mandatory I-cards nor given the medical records after treatment. The also said that they have not received any compensation from the factory owners till date.

A copy of the detailed list of accidents was also passed on to the Labour Department.

R N Patel, Principal Secretary (Labour), Gujarat, had earlier refused to send any government representative to the public hearing, claiming it to be just an “NGO hearing”.

But later, the government changed its mind and N N Patel, Assistant Director, Industrial Health and Safety, Gujarat, was sent.

Patel said: “We have received the complaints. Now, the department will conduct an inquiry and ensure that due compensation is paid.”

Sudhir Katiyar, the director of Prayas said: “Justice D V Joshi, the retired president of the Industrial Court, Gujarat, chaired the hearing, which was attended by 200 workers. Jagdish Parikh, the former Deputy Director of the National Institute of Occupational Health, Ahmedabad, was also among the panel hearing the cases.”

He added: “Kadi is the centre of the cotton ginning industry in Gujarat with over 122 factories. But all labour legislations are violated. Young children and adolescents are employed in 12-hour shifts, flouting all safety norms.”

Prayas has documented over 100 accidents (including 17 fatal) over the last five years: a list of which was circulated in the public hearing. Of these, 22 had occurred last year.

Prayas workers also informed about the most recent mishap that occurred on February 21, when Babu Dama, a worker at the Malguru Ginning Factory in Kadi, lost his arm while on duty.