Task forces to prevent child labour practice in Bihar

Patna, Jun 11 (UNI) In a major step to enforce the newly-amended Child Labour(Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, and prevent its misuse, the Bihar Government has decided to set up four special task forces to end the social menace once and for all.

State Labour Commission sources here today informed that in a bid to prevent large scale misuse of the act by all sections of people in the state, like in several other states, the State Labour Department had decided to set up four separate task forces ''without further delay'' for conducting systematic raids, not only in restaurants and eateries but also in numerous households across the state.

''Those found violating the provisions of the National Act would be dealt with sternly, no matter how influential they may be in the society,'' sources confirmed.

Citing the recent media outcry On the case of a 12-year-old boy working as a domestic help in the house of a judge of the Central Administrative Tribunal(CAT) here, sources, made it clear that the task forces would work with total sincerity and leave no stone unturned to expose all such cases.

Referring to the non-availability of any dependable official data to ascertain the exact number of such children working as domestic help or labourers in the city, let alone the entire state, sources said a rough estimate would put the figure at around 7,500 in Patna alone.

Meanwhile, a recent survey conducted by the Bihar chapter of the Bachpan Bachao Andolan, an NGO, had found that a far larger number of children between the age group of 13 and 15 were found to be employed in a number of small scale units and roadside auto garages in the state under ''pitiable'' condition with very little possibility of leaving their jobs or think of going to schools.

Claiming that poverty and poor financial condition of the families had forced these hapless children to take up back-breaking jobs at such an early age, the sources blamed the unconcerned attitute of the State Authorities for not mitigating the problems.

Moreover, the lack of any effective machinery to prevent the children from being employed in unhealthy conditions had resulted in the mushrooming growth of the problem in recent times, the sources said and hoped that with the setting up of the task forces the issue would soon be addressed in a proper manner to help bring an end to the menace within the next few months.

UNI