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Forced out of school, Ludhiana’s marginalised kids remain oblivious to Children’s Day celebrations
Many children in Ludhiana serve tea around hosiery units, shops and roadside eateries in the city, including kids of migrant labourers from states including Bihar and Uttar Pradesh
After 13-year-old Gagan fared poorly in his Class 5 exams, his parents, who work as labourers, decided they could no longer afford to pay his school fees. They decided to have him drop out of school and start working as a helper at his uncle’s food stall to supplement the family’s income.
Now, it has been six months since he was been working at the stall, but he still yearns to go back to school to study again and meet his peers.
Gagan is not alone. There are many children like him in the city who belong to marginalised sections of the society and have been forced to drop out of school and start working. These kids are now waiting for just one chance to reclaim their childhood.
Even as Children’s Day was celebrated at schools across the country on Monday, these kids had no respite from the drudgery of work and remained oblivious to the occasion.
Many children serve tea around hosiery units, shops and roadside eateries in the city, including kids of migrant labourers from states including Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Deepak, 12, who is now working at a hosiery unit near Daresi ,had stood third in his Class 4 exam and nurtured aspirations to become a policeman.
He had started working for a brief period after the Covid lockdown to help his father, but hasn’t stopped since due to his family’s financial constraints.
Dinesh Kumar, who is a child rights activist and has worked for an NGO Save Childhood Movement, said, “Child labour is a dark blot on the face of the industrial city. There are a number of children in the city who work as bonded labourers in harrowing conditions for extremely low wages.”
He added that after rescue, these children should be granted ₹2 lakh under the central government scheme for their rehabilitation.
Just 48 kids rehabilitated by Dist Child Protection Unit in 2021
The District Child Protection Unit, which is under the Union ministry of women and child Development, has largely failed in its efforts to rehabilitate children who have been employed in blatant violation of laws right under the nose of authorities. Thousands of children under the age of 14 are seen working openly at establishments like tea stalls, shops, hosiery units and roadside dhabas, and operations to rescue them have been few and far between.
In 2021, just 48 children were rehabilitated by the unit. According to officials, this year’s data is unavailable.
District Child protection officer Rashmi said that arrangements had been made for rehabilitation of children rescued in 2021. She said, “After taking the child in our custody, we counsel the parents and make arrangements to provide education to the children, as most of them belong to other states. We send them back to their home state and regularly follow up on their progress.”
Officials said one major problem they face is that the rescued child is often made to start working again at an establishment being run by their relatives.
Naveen Kumar, an official at the child welfare department, said, “Most of the children were found working for their relatives. It is common that within a month of being rescued, the children drop out from schools again and their parents put them back to work.”
Assistant labour commissioner Pradeep Kumar, who is the nodal officer of the District Task Force Committee, said, “The labour department conducts raids twice a year in June and November, marking the week against child labour. We take swift action as we receive complaints.”
He said that the drive has been initiated against child labour from November 14 onwards and raids will be conducted in different areas.
