Child labourers rescued in Raichur

Don Bosco Devadurga was part of a joint team that raided goods vehicles transporting children to work in agricultural fields. They rescued 129 children through raids between 2 to 5 September 2020 in Raichur district. The joint team comprised members of the Labour and Education Departments, Mr. Manjunatha Reddy of the National Child Labour Project (NCLP), Ms. Nagaratna, CDPO, Department of Women and Child Development (DWCD), Mr. Thikkayya, District Child Protection Unit (DCPU), Police, CHILDLINE, Ms. Mangala Hegde, Chairperson, and Mr. Basavaraj, Child Welfare Committee (CWC). These raids were the result of a webinar on 25 August 2020 by Dr. Jayasree, Member- Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR) with the district administration.

The rescued 66 boys and 63 girls hailed from different villages in Devadurga, Sirvar and Raichur taluks. They were produced before the Child Welfare Committee along with their parents and teachers. The parents had to offer written bonds as surety that the children would not be sent to work again. The goods vehicles were fined with a minimum of 25000 rupees.

In the wake of the COVID 19 pandemic, closure of schools, and loss of income were the causative factors for the parents to put children into labour. The parents were educated on the consequences of child labour. The district administration will continue to take strict action in the coming days with more raids as the number of children engaged in child labour is on the rise.