Members of Berhampur Children Federation celebrated the World Day against Child Labour here on Wednesday in eight slums being coordinated by the YSD and appealed to citizens to stop child labour and ensure that all children go to school.
Bala Das and Amit Das of Gaudabandha Street, Ankooli appealed the common people not to buy anything from those business organisations that employ children as child labour. Along with Amit, Smruti and Bala, more than 100 children in the cityappealed to stop child labour.
Notably, Ganjam district is prone to child labour and as per 2011 census, 25,665 children (under the age group of 5 to 14 years) are engaged in various types of works spread over duration of less than three months to more than six months in a year. These children are working in various sectors like, agriculture and allied sectors, collection and processing of minor forest produce,
domestic work/help, hotels/motels/roadside dhabas, automobile workshops, and various other hazardous sectors. The schools dropout rate also is a serious concern in the district, a study said. The district child protection unit (DCPU) has rescued 135 child labourers in 2015-16 and 171 in 2016-17 through ‘Operation Muskan’.
Child Line has also been assigned with a helpline i.e. 1098 to report and create awareness in the district.