22 child labours rescued from a brick kiln

AHEMDABAD: NP NEWS ONLINE:  Child labour, a criminal offence as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development. Indian government classifies child labourers into two groups: Main workers are those who work 6 months or more per year.

Recently, officials from the Anand district administration in Gujarat raided a brick kiln in Vadeli village of Borsad taluka. The raid was carried out after locals tipped off authorities about the brick kiln’s owner making juvenile children work for him. Accompanied by officials from the labour department and Bhadran police staffs, the team rescued 22 child labourers aged between five to 13 years in addition to freeing 30 bonded labourers.

District Collector, Dilip Rana who ordered the raid stated that the parents of the rescued children had joined the brick kiln about 15 days ago. “The brick kiln owner made the children of his labourers who accompanied their parents to work at his site. They were made to work without being hired or employed,” Rana added.

Following the raid, officials also discovered that brick kiln was operating without a valid industrial license prompting them to seal the site. A complaint has also been initiated and an investigation into the matter is proceeding. Bonded labourers including men and women who were freed by the officials were given train tickets to Uttar Pradesh.

The district collector also told that local authorities have launched a campaign to visit and check all brick kilns under its jurisdiction which covers Borsad and Anklav among other areas. Raids will be conducted at these sites to ensure that no child labours are being employed by the brick kiln owners. Last month, a similar incident was reported from Samotapothar near Sonapur in Assam where 121 underage workers were rescued by district officials from a brick factory.