408 child labourers rescued through raids in Punjab

Chandigarh, July 8: Labour department in Punjab has successfully rescued over 408 children engaged as child labour in the state.

The children were rescued during a special drive from 17 to 23 June this year, when the state was observing child labour eradication week. State labour minister Surjit Kumar Jayani today said, during the course of the drive, special teams were constituted under Deputy Commissioners concerned and raids were conducted at 8,964 different centres.

During raids, 408 cases of child labour were detected and 337 offenders were issued challans for the offence, he said. Among these cases, 203 children were found to be working in dangerous occupations.

Maximum 99 cases of child labour were found in Ludhiana district, 59 in Sangrur, 47 in Amritsar and 31 in Jalandhar district, Jayani said.

Besides these raids, special seminars were organised for sensitising people so that children belonging to poor families could also enjoy their childhood, the minister said.

PTI