Post News Network
Cuttack, March 15: The district administration is at the butt of criticism for failing to rescue child labourers working on brick kilns in the district.
Sources said the labour department has no information on the number of child labourers brought from neighbouring states and districts working in brick kilns here, and there are allegations that the department is hardly interested in acting against owners of such kilns who are operating in flagrant violation of the Labour Act.
Sources said authorities of district child protection unit (DCPU) and Childline March 4 rescued 13 children of Bolangir district from a brick kiln near Nuapatna here on a tip-off. The children were sent to Bolangir later.
Choudwar, Cuttack Sadar, Barang, and Tangi-Choudwar tehsil have witnessed a sharp rise in brick kilns.
Despite violating government guidelines and heavily polluting the atmosphere, the administration is maintaining a stoic silence, sources said.
District collector Nirmal Chandra Mishra ordered closure of a brick kiln at Sadar area and directed disciplinary action to be taken against its owner for flouting guidelines.
State Pollution Control Board regional officer SK Panda said the board has issued closure notice to eight brick kilns located in the district.
According to a survey conducted in 2007 by the State Labour Institute, the district had 14,509 child labourers.
However, a 2012 survey conducted by the same agency revealed that the number of child labourers has come down to 3,472.
Unofficial sources said the number of migrant labourers increased by leaps and bounds in the last few years.
District labour officer Banamali Mohapatra said the department takes action immediately after getting reports of children being engaged to work at brick kilns.
The district labour department has rescued 10 child labourers in the last three months during raids.
The rescued kids were from Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, Mohapatra added.
Social activist Dipak Acharya said the administration rescues the children engaged in brick kilns but fails to rehabilitate them, as a result of which the situation comes back to
square one.
District collector Nirmal Mishra said the district administration is taking the issue of child labour seriously and is working in earnest to implement an action plan that it had drawn up January 28 to rescue and rehabilitate children working at brick kilns.
