Punjab takes initiative against child labour

The Punjab Government has launched a special awareness campaign against the exploitation of children as child labour under the Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act.
   
Stating this here today, Tikshan Sood labour minister Punjab, said that in order to generate awareness amongst the masses and with a view to eradicating child labour from the state, number of seminars have been organised and during 902 surveys all over the state 97 children were rescued from the hazardous occupations under the Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act.

Under the National Child Labour Projects 107, schools have been successfully functioning in the districts of Jallandhar, Ludhiana and Amritsar where 4350 students for class five were being imparted education together with the vocational
training.

As many as 4251 children have already been rehabilitated, said Sood.

The minister has asked the district officers to ensure the proper implementation of the centrally sponsored schemes launched, especially to rehabilitate the children who were forced into bonded labour in the state.

Vigilance committees have been constituted in all the districts to ensure the eradication of child labour.

Referring to the socio-economic problem of Child labour in the state, the minister said that to educate the child labour and also to mainstream them in the state, projects were being run by the NGOs in different districts under the National Child Labour Projects (NCLP).
   
The field staff of the labour departments, have also been directed to do the needful for eradication of the problem of child and bonded labour and send their reports to the head office regularly, he said.