Over 40 child labourers, many of them trafficked from States like Bihar and West Bengal, were rescued by authorities during raids in Delhi and Jalandhar.
Thirty-four child workers were rescued from Samaipur Badli and Alipur police station areas in the national capital.
The operation was conducted by the labour department, Delhi Police and the activists of child rights NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan, a BBA official said on Tuesday.
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The children were working in different units such as steel polish, sweet shops, roadside restaurants and oil factories and they were trafficked from the States of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
“They were between the age group of 8-14 years. Most of them were brought by middleman who lured them with a better life in Delhi but when they reached here, they were forced into a life of labour. They had to work for more than 10-12 hours without proper food and rest,” the official said.
In another rescue operation carried out in Jalandhar, Punjab, eight children working in a vegetable market were rescued. “These children had to work from 4 am in unloading the vegetables to be sold in the market. These children used to carry heavy vegetable sacks on their backs, having no time to sleep and take rest,” he said.
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During the rescue operation in Delhi, six employers have been arrested.
R S Chaurasia, Chairperson of BBA, said June 12 is going to be celebrated throughout the world as World Day against Child Labour. BBA is launching a nationwide campaign against child domestic labour that day.