Bachpan Bachao Andolan rescues 10 child labourers from Delhi’s Shahdara

Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), founded by Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi, in a joint operation with the officials of district administration, police team and partner NGO Bal Vikas Dhara, rescued 10 child labourers in raids conducted in New Delhi’s Shahdara. The operation, which was led by SDM Shahdara, also had the officials of the Labour Department, District Child Protection Unit and members of the Civil Defence.

The rescued children, who were in the age-group of 13 to 16 years, belonged to the states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. These child labourers would repair motorcycles and make stickers. One of the children revealed that he was working as a child labourer for almost two-and-a-half years and it was only two months back that his employer started paying him daily wages of Rs 200.

Eleven establishments in the areas have been sealed and notices have been issued to them.

Medical examination of all the rescued children was conducted after which they were produced before the Child Welfare Committee. The children have now been safely sent to Mukti Ashram, a short term rehabilitation centre.

“For us, June is observed as the action month against child labour. We are on a mission to ensure that every day we rescue children in large numbers from factories, hotels, dhabas, etc. Even though there are very stringent laws against child labour, the general trend to employ children still prevails. Our fight is against that attitude and mindset”, Manish Sharma, Director, BBA, said.