JORHAT, June 13 - State Assembly Speaker and Jorhat MLA Hitendra Nath Goswami has laid stress on the importance of undertaking more poverty alleviation programmes in order to eradicate poverty as the same was the root cause of employing child labour in different sectors.
Goswami was speaking as the chief guest at the function organised on Tuesday on the occasion of �World Day Against Child Labour� by the State Labour Welfare Department with the support of UNICEF and Jorhat district administration at the Assam Agricultural University.
Goswami, while pointing out that poverty leads to children to be employed as labourers, said that the State government was working on priority basis to eradicate poverty by taking various programmes.
He expressed hope that proper implementation of such programmes would create a situation where children would not be sent by their parents to work nor children would be compelled to work to support their families.
The Speaker called for more allocation of funds in the education sector to further reach out to the children in economically and socially backward areas.
In his address, the State Labour Welfare Department Minister, Pallab Lochan Das, spoke on the series of steps taken by the government to curb child labour.
Das also urged the society to come forward in this regard and contribute in checking employment of child labour which was a crime as per the law to prevent child labour (Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, amended in 2016.
Jorhat MP KP Tasa and Assam Agricultural University Vice-Chancellor Dr KM Bujarbaruah too addressed the gathering at the function.
Earlier, the Jorhat Deputy Commissioner Narayan Konwar gave the welcome address.