Three children engaged in child labour were rescued from the Attukal Bhagavathy temple surroundings as part of the Sarana Balyam programme of the Women and Child Development Department on Wednesday.
The children were rescued by the Thiruvananthapuram District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) during a search drive held in connection with the ongoing temple festival. One of the children, a girl from outside Kerala, was selling idols, while two others – a boy and a girl, both Keralites – were streetchildren.
Sarana Balyam was launched to wipe out child labour, child beggary, and child trafficking in the State, rescue the children, and rehabilitate them.
A child help desk had been set up by the DCPU at the temple ‘nadapanthal’ on the second day of the festival. The help desk had conducted awareness programmes in the temple festival zone, and the search drive was conducted as a follow-up to the awareness programme after closely observing the situation for a couple of days. The search was conducted in association with the Labour department, police, and the Childline, a statement from the DCPU said.
Rehabilitation plans
The rescued children were produced in front of the district child welfare committee, after which they were placed in three homes. Further steps for their rehabilitation such as whether to place them with their families or send them home will be taken after counselling, officials said.
Their details will also be uploaded on the Bal Swaraj portal of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights.
The number of child street vendors in the Attukal festival zone is fewer this year, the officials said, adding that search drives under Sarana Balyam will continue in other parts of the city in days to come.
