The increasing child labour problem in Keonjhar district often goes unheeded by the administration. Although engaging children in restaurants, construction work, street cleaning and other farm work is a common sight here, little effort was made to rescue them and prevent child exploitation until the operation of “Muskan” programme by the Government.
A team comprising DCPO Debangana Barik, Rasmirekha Senapati, Soumyaranjan Dash, Sunita Kisan, Ramkrishna Choudhury, Ganeswar Mahanta and Barbil Tehsildar Arun Mallick rescued 28 children from Barbil and five from Jhumpura town during a raid recently. These rescued children were brought from backward villages of Banspal block, Telkoi block, Jharkhand and West Bengal by brokers and they were forced to work in different garage, restaurant and fabrication units as low paid labourers.
Three children were admitted in a Government residential school, while 30 are temporarily sheltered in the Children Open Home, Keonjhar. The guardians of these children will be called for couselling and future course will be decided for the interest of these children, the member of Child Welfare Committee said.