GUWAHATI, June 13 - UTSAH (Universal Team for Social Action and Help), a child rights organisation, along with UNICEF, Kamrup (M) district administration and the National Child Labour Project launched the �Ward-Level Anti-Child Labour Campaign� at Krishna Apartments, Chandmari on Tuesday evening in line with the World Day Against Child Labour.
Through the ward level anti-child labour campaign, 31 camps will be organised in 31 wards of Guwahati (one apartment block per ward) till March 31, 2019. The campaign will cover 1,240 households.
Since many apartment blocks are rife with hidden child labourers, this campaign would be a starting point towards getting all apartment blocks declared as �Child Labour Free� through an official certification from the Deputy Commissioner�s office after detailed due diligence by the Child Labour Task Force (Kamrup-M).
Through Tuesday�s campaign, residents of the apartment block were made aware of the child labour law, ways to respond to child labour, and the district level child protection system.
Palash Pratim Bora, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Kamrup (M) district, who is also the nodal officer, Child and Adolescent Labour Act 1986, in his speech, spoke about the adverse impact of child labour on innocent children and the importance of public response to cases of child labour. He said sustainable development of the district is possible only if the protection concerns of children are taken care of.
Miguel Das Queah, child rights activist and executive director of UTSAH Child Rights Org, gave a detailed technical presentation on the child protection system and the child labour law.
Pahari Konwar, ACP (Crime), Guwahati Police Commissionerate spoke about the experiences of the police while conducting rescue operations. She assured of police support in cases of child labour, especially during rescue missions, lodging of FIRs and timely charge-sheeting.
The campaign was attended Ajanta Sharma, Assistant Labour Commissioner, Kamrup (M), Department of Labour Welfare; Naresh Chandra Das, Labour Officer, Kamrup(M), Department of Labour Welfare, Government of Assam and Sampreeti Barman, Project Director, National Child Labour Project, among others. During the programme, the residents of Krishna Apartments took a pledge not to engage child labour.
