GUWAHATI, Feb 13 � Though much has been said about creating a child friendly atmosphere in the State, the condition of children in the tea garden areas point to a totally different picture � that of violation of all the rights of the child.
As per a survey undertaken by Bal Sakha, Assam, there is high prevalence of malnutrition amongst the children in the tea gardens, the dropout rate too is high, a large number of them are engaged in labour and the incidence of early marriage of the girl child is high.
It needs to be mentioned here that Bal Sakha, Assam has been taking up a host of activities to improve the status of the child in the tea gardens apart from liaising with the government functionaries, different service providers and other stakeholders on child rights issues.
�We feel it is very important to document the status of child rights in the State of Assam. So advocacy on child rights especially in trouble-prone areas of Assam, like Kokrajhar, Dima Hasao, Dhemaji and tea gardens of Dibrugarh and other parts is integral to our activities,� said Dr Aditya Kumar Chatterjee, secretary of Bal Sakha, Assam.
Dr Chatterjee said that there was high prevalence of malnutrition among children between 0-5 in the tea garden areas, and health of children between 0-18 years was poor.
�There is a high prevalence of child labour in tea garden areas of the State. Though the tea managements do not admit to the fact about child labour. It is more about engagement in the domestic work and also helping mothers during plucking and garden work,� said Dr Chatterjee.
The survey also says that substance abuse is widespread in the tea garden areas amongst children above the age of 12 years. Members of the organisation involved in the survey found that the children who are in association with the adolescent age group are taking some of the alcoholic and tobacco related substances in the community.
�To reduce dropout in the school, the quality of services in the government schools must be improved and more enrollment should be encouraged,� Dr Chatterjee added.
In the tea garden community, early marriage of the girl child is very common. This has affected the physical as well as mental well-being of the girls. According to Dr Chatterjee, this issue has to be dealt with at the community level.
