In a massive raid and rescue operation by Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), 129 child labourers working in zari (embroidery) unit were rescued from Kotla Mubarakpur, New Delhi. Boys, aged between 8-14 years were found working in small dingy rooms, with no light or ventilation. These small rooms were homes as well as workplaces for children trafficked from the states of West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand. Zari making and work has been classified as hazardous form of child labour in the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986 in India.

The raid, supported by the police, administration and judiciary, was conducted as part of an ongoing drive to by BBA to make New Delhi a child labour free city. Thousands of children trafficked mainly from Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Orissa, slog in Zari and numerous other sweatshops that litter New Delhi’s landscape. Functioning from labyrinthine lanes, these sweatshops are hard to pin-point and harder to monitor and control. 30-50 boys can be found working in each of these Zari units in the most appalling conditions. Working more between 12-14hrs a day without break for a meagre Rs. 200 per month (food, etc, is deducted from this amount by the owner), have lost their sense of freedom and liberty.

14 years old Saimul has been working for the last 6 years in one of the raided Zari units. Youngest among 4 siblings, Saimul was trafficked from West Bengal by an agent along with his brother to Delhi. In the last 6 years he has met his parents only once. For working tirelessly from 9 a.m. in the morning to 1 a.m. past midnight, Saimul’s earning was a paltry Rs.600 a year.

Although Saimul and his co-child workers have been rescued by BBA, the main culprits, the traffickers, employers and the exporters still remain at larger.