The Joint Task Force teams have rescued 315 children engaged in various establishments during the ongoing drive against child labour in Andhra Pradesh.
Labour Commissioner M.V. Seshagiri Babu, on the eve of World Day Against Child Labour which is observed on June 12, appealed to the officials and NGOs to join hands to check the child labour.
As part of a month-long drive against child labour that began on June 1, the Labour Department has constituted around 50 teams headed by the respective District Collectors.
The teams comprising the officials from education, labour, health, village and ward secretariat, police, juvenile welfare, factories, women development and child welfare, anti-human trafficking units (AHTUs) and other departments, Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) and Child Rights Advocacy Foundation (CRAF) are participating in the raids.
“We have conducted raids on mechanic sheds, spinning mills, brick kilns, hotels, restaurants, shops, factories, aqua processing and packing units, construction sites and industries and rescued the children. Cases have been registered against the employers of the children under A.P. Shops and Establishments Act, 1988, Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 and the Minimum Wages Act, 1948,” Mr. Seshagiri Babu said.
The rescued children have been produced before the Child Welfare Committees (CWCs) and handed over to their parents after counselling. Some children have been referred to the Child Care Institutions (CCIs), he added.
“Of the 313 children rescued, 41 were street children. Many children who were working in hazardous conditions were rescued,” said Child Rights Advocacy Foundation (CRAF) State Programme Director P. Francis Thambi, who participated in the raids.
