Child labour rampant in Digboi

From our Correspondent

DIGBOI, May 9:  Though the Cabinet approved the new Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition) Act on August 28, 2012 for a child labour-free India, reality presents a different picture altogether. Children below 14-18 years  of age were  found engaged in hotels, restaurants, garage, tea gardens and various hazardous jobs in Digboi, Pengaree, Bordumsa and Margherita.

Children below 12-15 years can be seen employed by scrap vendors in and around Digboi to collect scrap and other unused materials. These children go from home to home collecting scrap. Some conscious senior citizens of Digboi said that the administration had allegedly failed to deal with the situation, giving rise to the mece of child labour in various forms in and around Digboi in Tinsukia district. The civil and police administration are often taking measures to check illegal activities like sale of illegal liquor, drug abuse and sex trade but similar measures to rescue exploited children are hardly seen. However, according to official sources, in a significant move to curb the meance of child labour across the country, the Government of India is set to ban all forms of child labour, making the employment of the children below 14 years a crimil offense. The cabinet also approved the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition) Act putting a blanket ban on employing anybody below 18 years in hazardous occupation, which was re-classified in line with the increase in the minimum age of children from 14 to 18 years. Now, there is speculation as to how the district authority will tackle the mece of child labour in the district.