Date:05/12/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/05/stories/2008120559360300.htm

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Child labour thrives in old city

J.S. Ifthekhar

Rescue efforts fail due to non-cooperation from locals

— A file photo

Tough life: Efforts for rescuing child labourers draw zero results in old city.

Hyderabad: The old quarter of the city remains a tough nut to crack as far as elimination of child labour is concerned. Efforts of the district administration and the Labour Department to rescue and rehabilitate working children under 14 years have hit a cul-de-sac. This is largely because of non-cooperation from locals. Strong protest by the local legislators has only queered the pitch.

There are at least 3,000 child labourers in the old city, mostly boys working in shops and establishments. While 30 to 40 children are rescued from their workplaces every day from different parts of the twin cities, the old city’s share in it is almost nil. In fact it is not everyday that the rescue teams visit this part of the city. Adverse reaction and fear of being ‘gharaoed’ keeps them at bay.

Change of tack

Now in a change of tack, the authorities plan to rope in students of degree colleges in the old city, locality elders, NGOs, politicians and slum level committee members to address the issue. The idea of taking the help of religious leaders in the battle against child labour is also being considered. “A word from the imam of a mosque will carry more weight than what we say. People can be easily persuaded to stop employing children,” said B. Ajay, Joint Commissioner, Labour Department.

By December-end authorities plan to stick some one lakh posters in the twin cities to create awareness about elimination of child labour. In this campaign special focus will be on the old city. College students will stick posters on every door and try to find out if any child in that house is working. If so, they will politely explain to parents about the need for sending children to school. Posters will carry a toll free number 9704601200 of the State Rescue Centre.

“If someone comes across a child labourer all that one has to do is to call this number and the rescue team will be there in a short time to help the child,” said Mr. Ajay.

Since poverty drives the young ones to work, it is proposed to rehabilitate the family along with the child. The affected families will be tied up with some employment guarantee scheme, extended loans and provided ration cards, if needed.