UP tops in employing child labourers: Labour Dept

Thu, May 8 12:45 AM

Uttar Pradesh paints a murky picture of child labourers. Although the State is keeping pace with development, it is doing so at the cost of snatching away the childhood from 15.31 per cent of the total population.

The labour department in its recent report stated that approximately 15 percent of the total population of the State comprises of child labourers and the statistics has worried the officials. "It is a matter of grave concern that Uttar Pradesh stands first in employing child labourers," said Assistant Labour Commissioner (ALC), G.N. Srivastava.

"There are children working in different fields such as at illegal mines, brickilns, hotels, as bonded labourers in carpet weaving industries and construction works," he added. "In Allahabad district, 8,223 child labourers have been identified between 1996 and March 2008.

About 2,050 children are already being imparted education in special schools functioning under the Indus Child Labour Project, which started in the year 2000. There are 41 special schools being run in the district under the project," he stated.

As a move towards rooting out the evil of child labour, the labour department is empowering the mothers of the kids with the formation of self-help groups so that they may also become self-dependent. As a major breakthrough, the department is endeavouring towards providing the contracts of silica sand mining and stone breaking independently to these self-help groups.

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