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18 children rescued

JAIPUR: Pratham Rajasthan, a voluntary organisation working in the field of education, has rescued 18 children involved in rag picking, begging and petty crimes at Jodhpur railway station. The anti-child labour operation was conducted after an assessment survey for short duration educational classes at the railway station.

Children liberated from the vicious cycle of destitution and misdemeanour used to sell the used mineral water bottles and rags to the local contractors and utilised the daily earnings in fulfilling their requirements for food and clothing and to buy toxic substances such as cigarette, beedi, gutka and liquor.

“During our survey for educational classes at the railway station we noticed that these children were in great need for care and protection. We counselled them for two months and convinced them to enrol themselves in a residential educational programme,” said Pratham Rajasthan coordinator V.S. Shekhawat here on Saturday.

The children were categorised in “without family” and “with family” groups and the parents of the latter were contacted for consent for their rehabilitation. The children were then produced before the State Government’s Child Welfare Committee, which took cognizance of the case for rehabilitation. Mr. Shekhawat said a total of 25 children were presented before the Committee over the weekend. Eight children have been rehabilitated in the Baal Ashram run by Bachpan Bachao Andolan at Virat Nagar, four each in I-India and Jankala Sahitya Manch and two girls at Vatsalyla in Jaipur.

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