Future in their hands: The Kurnool Collector, Vikas Raj, discussing the child labour problem with representatives of the UNICEF on Tuesday.

KURNOOL: A team of researchers from the UNICEF met the Collector, Vikas Raj, on Tuesday and held a discussion on the status of child labour problem in the district.

The group comprised researchers from different universities across the globe working on child labour problem.

The district administration, in collaboration with the UNICEF, had conducted a survey in the district and identified 70,000 child workers.

The Adoni division stood first with 27,000 child workers where most of them were employed in seed cotton fields.

The Collector told the delegation that the teams had collected a complete data including details of a child workers, parents and economic status of parents.

`Kala jathas' planned

In the first phase, the administration planned to conduct `kala jathas' to educate parents against sending their children to work but to schools.

Hardcore parents would be tried in the open courts and counselled and motivated to send their children to schools. Punitive measures would be initiated only when the parents remained adamant despite all the efforts.

Mr. Vikas Raj said they were showing restraint so that the root cause of the whole problem was tackled.

He told the delegation that all children could be brought to bridge schools but accommodating them in schools attached to hostels was a big problem.

The administration was also looking for committed NGOs who could run residential bridge schools. He said children were employed in lime kilns in Dhone area too.

The visitors asked the Collector if any superstition was attached to cross-pollination work in seed cotton fields that only virgin girls should be employed for perfect seed setting.

The representatives of the UNICEF would go round the district in groups for two days. The UNICEF was planning to replicate the model if perfected in Kurnool district.

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