Child labour eating into young lives

CHANDIGARH: His tiny eyes weave dreams of a lavish home and a bright future but his present is in the hands of a woman owner of an eating joint he works with. Popularly known as Chhotu, nine-year-old Rajneesh works as a servant at a ramshackle eatery in Sector-19. On being asked what Independence Day signifies for him, he shyly said, ���Kal jyada samose banane hain��� (Tomorrow, extra samosas are to be prepared).
The story of 12-year-old Indrapal, who begins his day walking barefoot from Colony-5 to Sector-22 carrying a stick tied with multi-coloured balloons is not very different.With a smiling face, he runs to every car which stops at the traffic light, coming up with a request for purchase of a balloon from him. When TOI approached him, he hesitantly said he earned around Rs 30 to 40 a day, out of which, he spent some and sent the rest to his mother and two sisters staying in Hardoi district of Uttar Pradesh.
He is eagerly looking forward to Independence Day, as his dealer would then give him tricolour balloons, which sell like hot cakes.
And there are hundreds others like Rajneesh and Indrapal working as child labourers in the city perhaps at a tea stall near one���s office or at the motor workshop where one might go along with his children to get his car washed.
Even after 62 years of independence, while the administration boasts of several campaigns to eradicate child labour, the menace proves to be not merely a problem but also a curse for the city.
���The evil continues to haunt the city as a disturbing social evil in today���s society,��� said Gaurav Gaur, faculty member in department of social welfare, Panjab University.
���The administration should have campaigns that involve university and college students in raising awareness among the underprivileged, many of whom are not even aware of schemes like free education and mid-day meal for their children,��� he feels.
Lack of implementation of action plans and no organized system of rehabilitation of these children are reasons for the menace not being curbed properly, feels Madhu P Singh, a high court advocate and a child rights activist. The employment of parents of such children should be included in the action plan to make sure that no child leaves studies for earning money, she adds.