Bahraich (UP), Jul 23 (PTI) Nine children engaged in various commercial establishments here were rescued during a special drive against child labour on Thursday, with legal action initiated against owners of seven such establishments, officials said.
The drive was carried out in Nanpara tehsil on directions of District Magistrate Akchay Tripathi, they said.
Sub-Divisional Magistrate Monalisa Johri said a joint team comprising officials from the revenue department, labour department, police, the District Child Protection Unit and an NGO conducted surprise inspections at auto service centres, welding workshops, provision stores, garment shops and other commercial establishments on Shivpur Road, Bypass Chauraha and major markets in the town.
During the inspections, nine children engaged in labour were rescued and notices were issued to the employers.
Legal proceedings have been initiated against seven establishment owners under the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, as amended in 2016, she said.
Johri said traders and members of the public were also sensitised about child labour laws during the campaign. They were informed that employing children below the age of 14 is completely prohibited, while engaging adolescents aged between 14 and 18 years in hazardous occupations is a punishable offence.
Appealing to traders not to employ children, the SDM urged them to send children to school instead, saying the administration’s objective was not only to enforce the law but also to ensure every child received education, protection and a dignified childhood.
She said such drives against child labour would continue in future. PTI COR ABN ARB ARB
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