|
New Delhi: In a ragpickers' hutment at Rangpuri Pahari, close to the upscale
Vasant Kunj neighbourhood in south Delhi, 12-year-old Govinda
Kumar begins to scribble on a notebook after returning from his
daily nine-hour drill of collecting re-cyclable waste from the
streets.
The child labourer, who started working at the age of 7, got
admitted to a government school three months ago after years of
struggling on the streets for earning Rs.30 a day. And he is not
alone - many others like him continue to slog for survival.
"During the day I collected plastic waste and newspapers from
bungalows and streets, and at night I helped my father in
segregating the collected material. This year I got enrolled into
a school," said Govinda, whose family migrated from Bihar in 2004.
Govinda, after a series of irregular studies at school, got
admission to Class 5.
"I managed to get into a school in 2005, but could not carry my
education forward because of financial needs of the family. I
dropped out in Class 2," he added.
It was after the intervention of a NGO that Govinda got
re-admitted to school.
Ranpuri Pahari, identified by experts as the "den of child
labour", because of its sizeable population of children employed
in denim factories in the nearby Mahipalpur area and ragpickers,
is home to over 200 ragpicker families.
"My husband earns Rs.2,000 a month. To feed six mouths, Govinda
started helping his father," said Shobha Devi, Govinda's mother.
Experts said NGOs' intervention was not possible in all cases due
to the resistance from the child labourers' families.
"Child labour is of two types -- when children work with the
family and when they are trafficked into forced labour for
industrial work," Jaya Singh, senior manager of NGO Child Rights
and You (CRY), told IANS.
"Children with families are easier to be mainstreamed into formal
education, while children in the industries are difficult to be
located and pulled out," added Jaya Singh.
The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act bans the
employment of children below the age of 14.
According to the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), child
labour in the country in 2005 was around 8.9 million. Experts,
however, estimate the statistics have gone up since.
According to estimates by child labour activists, there are at
present roughly 500,000 child labourers scattered around Delhi.
These include children who work as domestic helps and ragpickers.
Most of the ragpickers are found in Okhla, Tughlaqabad, Rangpuri
Pahari, Bhalswa Dairy and Jahangirpuri areas.
Experts point to problems in rescuing child labourers. "The law
states the age under which employing a child is 14 years, it
should be 18 years," said Ajay Sinha, associate general manager,
policy analysis, CRY.
He also suggested stricter implementation of the law by
inspectors.
(Madhulika
Sonkar can be contacted at madhulika.s@ians.in)
|
Comments
|
Quick links