Karnataka - Hassan   

`Act tough against those employing child workers'

Staff Correspondent

HASSAN: Minister for Women and Child Welfare H.K. Kumaraswamy has advised officers of his department and those of the Labour Department not to wait till they receive complaints on employment of child labourers, but act on their own by raiding premises where such children are employed.

People should be made aware that child labour is a social menace and that social and voluntary organisations should be involved in this endeavour.

The Minister was speaking after inaugurating a training programme for inspectors appointed under the Child Labour (Abolition and Regulation) Act, here on Saturday.

Mr. Kumaraswamy said that 19,000 child labourers had been identified in the State and steps taken to rehabilitate them by opening special schools.

A special hostel would be opened for them.

Mr. Kumaraswamy regretted that despite the Government making it mandatory that children between 5 and 14 years should be sent to school, there were cases of parents sending their wards to work and not to school.

Zilla panchayat president Annappa Shetty regretted the practice of people spending their earnings on liquor leaving nothing for family maintenance and then sending their children to work. He wanted action against people who employed children.

Deputy Commissioner K.S. Ashwathanarayana Gowda, who is also chairman of the district Labour Project Society, administered the oath to the trainee inspectors on elimination of child labour.

Zilla panchayat chief executive officer F.R. Jamaadar released a handbook on the action plan for eradication of child labour. If parents did not send their children to school, then the child labour menace would continue.

Deputy Labour Commissioner and project director J.T. Jinkalappa was present.

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