Sixty Two Child Labour got gift of freedom on World Day against Child LabourDr. Avnish Jolly, Delhi :The dramatic raid from near slavery came on the eve of the World Day Against Child Labour.
The boys, mostly from poverty-stricken Motihari and Sitamarhi districts of Bihar, were freed from zari (brocade) units in Ghonda Chowk near Seelampur in east Delhi. The Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), which has been campaigning for years against child slavery, organised the raid along with Delhi Police.
As they were led out of the dingy production units where they had worked for months, silently suffering physical assaults.
Talking to reporters, Seelampur sub-divisional magistrate AK Sharma, who led the raid, said: “Upon speaking to the children, we realised they worked from eight in the morning to 10 pm and never got any wages for their work. This clearly means they were bonded labour.”Sharma said the children would be given “release certificates” under the Bonded Labour Act. The certificate entitles them to a rehabilitation package of Rs 20,000.
The children can also avail government schemes like the Indira Awas Yojana on a priority. Most importantly, the children would be enrolled in the National Child Labour Project schools, he added.
Talking about the rescue operation, BBA founder Kailash Satyarthi said that the main reason for conducting the raid on the eve of the World Day Against Child Labour was to show that action is needed to end the menace.