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25 bonded child labourers rescued in city

On: 10th February 2015 , Source: Times of India

LUCKNOW: As many as 25 boys working as bonded labour were rescued from a bangle-making factory in Khajua locality of the city here on Monday evening. Aging between 8-14 years most of these boys hail from villages in Bihar and were making bangles in hazardous conditions for the past three years.

They were all living in a ten-by-ten room besides being made to work illegally. They boys claimed they were never given enough to eat and were made to work for 12-14 hours a day for a meager Rs 1,500 a month. There were no off-days and health facilities.

The boys were rescued in a joint operation undertaken by state police department's Anti-Human Trafficking cell and social organisation Childline. Besides saving the boys, the team recovered dangerous chemicals compounds which are known to cause pulmonary infections like tuberculosis from the place.

The police also arrested two persons named Mohsin and Jugal Kishore for making children work and risk their lives. FIR was also registered against the two for violating provisions of Juvenile Justice Act 2000, Child Labour Prevention Act 1986 and bonded labour prevention act 1976.

Inspector Om Prakash Singh who headed the operation cited example of the youngest child Salman who got the job through a relative. TOI saw him bare-foot braving the chilly breeze in a t-shirt. "I have worked in Hyderabad and Jaipur too," the boy told TOI. Oldest among the children Mohammad Akeel said they all were working to support their families. "Our parents do not have enough to feed the whole family," he stated.

Manoj Verma,  member  of Childline associated with the operation, informed that the children would be sent to shelter homes now and would later be re-united with their families.

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Just tip of iceberg?

The  number  of arrests could just be the tip of an iceberg as the NGO believes that more than 500 kids were engaged in child labour in Bazar Khala, Chowk, Saadatganj and Thakurganj. Citing a survey, child rights activist Anshumali sharma revealed that about 23% of total child labourers belong to the age group of 5-9 years while the remaining age between 9-14 years. Figures show a large intra-district variation. In Lucknow, child labour is engaged in zardozi and carpet (durries) factories. At the state level, the concentration of child labour varies with districts like Bulandshahr accounting for over 10% child labour while Ghaziabad and Etawah where the incidence of child labour is 2% or less. It also revealed that child labour was a male-dominated phenomenon and eight of 10 kids belong to villages.