The Mahabubnagar district police have in a week-long drive, registered 62 cases against those who employed child labour.
The drive was taken up on June 12 that is observed as the World Day Against Child Labour every year.
Superintendent of Police-Mahabubnagar, Rema Rajeshwari chalked out the drive to check establishments that employed child labour and enrol children, thus rescued, in school. The children rescued - all of them boys, were in the age group of 10 and 16 years.
Intensive survey
The drive followed an intensive survey that established places where child labour was rampant, including Doulthabad, Narayanpet, Kodangal, Kosgi, Bomraspet, Gopalpet, Pangal, Wanaparthy, Balmoor, Lingala, Achampet, Ghattu, Devarakadra, Koilkonda, Nawabpet and Mahabubnagar.
The break-up indicates that the highest number of cases was booked in Mahabubnagar sub-division (26), followed by 11 in Nagarkurnool, seven each in Gadwal and Narayanpet, six in Shadnagar and five in Wanaparthy.
‘Collaborative policing’
The drive was a part of what Ms. Rajeshwari termed the ‘collaborative policing’ initiative of Mahabubnagar district police, in tandem with voluntary agencies, Labour and Women and Child Development departments of the government.
Factors
Causative factors for child labour being used, Ms. Rajeshwari said, were distress migration, employment-related migration, poverty and social factors. As for Mahabubnagar district alone, she pointed out that an estimated 10 lakh people from the district go to Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy in search of livelihood, recalling the tag of ‘Palamur’ labour that those from the district acquired.
