Kids toil at food stalls but govt drags feet on rescue

NOIDA: Life will be no different for a group of children employed as labour in the city this Holi. Despite clear directions from the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), the district labour department is distinctly unenthusiastic about rescuing them.
The commission received a complaint from a local resident that a group of children is employed at food stalls at the Noida Special Economic Zone in Sector 126.It asked the approved NGO FXB Suraksha-Childline to verify the ages of these children and submit an action taken report at the earliest.
Satya Prakash, programme manager at Childline, said NGO workers verified ages of the children and informed the district labour department, as well as the child welfare committee (CWC). CWC directed the labour department to take appropriate action by rescuing the children.
"We found there were 5-6 underage kids working in dhabas. But the labour department was evasive when we asked them to conduct a drive. The officials said they will call a meeting to discuss the issue on March 10," Prakash said.
Sanjay Singh, an engineer working for a private firm in Noida, told TOI he was the one who had complained to NCPCR last month about food stalls outside his office that employed children. "First, I told the dhaba owners that employing minors was in violation of law. When they ignored my advice saying the kids will anyhow have to work, I registered my complaint," Singh said. These kids are being made to work in the unhealthy food stalls morning till evening. Child labour is also a violation of the Right to Education Act, which guarantees free and compulsory education to children from six to 14.
U P Singh, deputy labour commissioner, Gautam Budh Nagar, said the matter has come to his notice. "I've assigned three officials to rescue the kids," he said. He, however, did not specify any date by when the rescue operation will be conducted.