The Government Railway Police (GRP), National Child Labour Project (NCLP) and representatives of various NGOs organised awareness programmes on Friday to mark World Day Against Child Labour.
Child Rights Advocacy Foundation (CRAF), which has been fighting for child rights, released posters against child labour to mark the occasion.
Foundation programme director P. Francis Thambi said that posters were released across the State. Public representatives, officers and children participated in the programme by following the COVID-19 norms, he said.
Nuzvid MLA Meka Venkata Pratap Apparao, RIDES director B. Nagesh Rao, Eluru MLC Ramu Surya Rao, Visakhapatnam Parliament Member M.V.V. Satyanarayana, Guntur Deputy Commissioner of Labour U. Malleswar Kumar and others participated in the programmes.
“We also arranged an anti-child labour campaign through public addressing system in child friendly villages in West Godavari and Guntur districts,” Mr. Francis Thambi said.
AP State Comission for Protection of Child Rights (APSPCR) member Kesali Appa Rao participated in an anti-child labour campaign, organised by CRAF at Vizianagaram. District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), Guntur, secretary I. Tejovathi organised teleconference with officials of various departments and asked them to take measures to prevent child labour.
Help promised
Superintendent of Railway Police K. Narayan Naik and Vijayawada railway station director Ch. Suresh, who participated in a programme organised by Railway Childline, promised to help the organisation in curbing child labour. Railway Childline director A. Sridhar Reddy, coordinator K. Srikanth and others participated.
At Amaravati, Good Shepherd Convent Sister Aruna George and other staff members participated in the programme.
Krishna District Collector A.Md. Imtiaz, NCLP Krishna district Project Director D. Anjaneya Reddy and other officials released posters against child labour at the Collectorate on the occasion.
Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) State coordinator G. Tirupathi Rao said children were vulnerable for work post the lockdown and urged the Non-Governmental Organisations and officers to take measures to prevent child labour.
“BBA rescued about 350 children engaged in various organisations and establishments during ‘Operation Muskaan’ and the special drives,” Mr. Tirupathi Rao said.
