New Delhi 12th June 2009 – 46 trafficked children were rescued today in a raid and rescue operation conducted by Bachpan Bachao Andolan ( Save the Childhood Movement ) , with the help of Sub Divisional Magistrate and Delhi Police from Narela industrial area. All the children were found working on rubber slippers and shoes industries.

Among the rescued children 42 are boys of age group 7-13 years old and 4 are girls of age group 13-14 years. They all have been trafficked from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal with a promise of better future.

Mohan (name changed) 7 year old the youngest child from the group is from Mujffarpur District of Bihar has bruises in on his hands and neck showing how brutally he has been beaten. On asking the reason behind the marks he informed BBA activists he was made to work for 12-13 hours daily and for not giving satisfying results was beaten up with sticks. He also said that “One day a uncle from my village came to my house and gave money to his parents and was brought to Delhi to work in the footwear industry, I was made to work with chemicals and heavy machines to flatten the leather and to paste the soles of the shoes because of which my eyes burn and also my back hurts a lot”. Other children had the same story as Mohan’s.

R.S Chaurasia , Chairperson of Bachpan Bachao Andolan who was also present in the raid said that “finding children in un-organized sector like roadside eateries and shops is common in Delhi but to find children working in organized industrial sector of Narela is shocking and also raise questions on monitory mechanism of the government. There are approximately 10.000 children who are working in the industries of Narela”. “It’s important that strict actions should be taken against the employers and scrutinizes the government system”.

Shyama (name changed) 13 year old still remembers the day when his father was threatened by the money lender for not giving his money back and on the stake of the money Shyama was taken away from her home and brought to Delhi Narela industrial area. She is not even given a penny for her work but just beating and humiliations from the employers; she still doesn’t know how much money is still left to be repaid.

Sumedha Kailash, Director Bal Ashram, said that “It has been years that I have been supporting the raid and rescue team and every time I see the conditions of children it rips my heart. I can imagine the pain of all the mothers of these children. Today it was also quiet visible that labour department was connived with the employers and was not ready to conduct the raid. On the eve of World Day against Child Labour many conferences are happening all around the world and many policies would be laid down to save the life of children but the question is how many of them are we able to really save? It’s important now that we keep our pens down and actually save the lives it’s high time now.

Kuanal Kumar , SDM Narela said that Upon speaking to the children, we realised that they worked from 7AM-1:00PM in the night and never received any wages for their work. This clearly means that they were bonded labours. Hence, they would be given release certificates under the Bonded Labour Act. This release certificate entitles them to their rehabilitation package of Rs. 20,000, the availing of government schemes like Indira Awas Yojana, housing schemes etc on a priority basis. Most importantly, the children would be enrolled in NCLP schools.