An official of the Raipur District Task Force (DTF) on Saturday informed that DTF has rescued 26 children from the biscuit manufacturing unit of popular brand Parle-G. These children were engaged as child labours in the factory.
"Under the direction of District Collector, we carried out an operation and rescued 26 children from the Parle-G biscuit factory," Navneet Swarnkar, District Child protection officer informed.
"Most of the rescued children are in the age group of 12-16 years and belong to Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Bihar," informed Swarnkar, adding, "According to the statements given by the children, they worked from 8 am to 8 pm and received only Rs 5,000- 7,000 per month as wages."
The operation was conducted after Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) received information that a large number of children were working in Amasivni area in Raipur.
"It is very disheartening to see that a brand like Parle-G which is a household name in our country and built on the trust of million children is involved in the exploitation of children so deeply and engaged young minds as child labours in its production unit", said Samir Mathur, CEO of BBA.
After the rescue, the children have been sent to the Chhattisgarh government's children home and an FIR was lodged under Section 79 of JJ Act.
"We are hoping that the Child Welfare Committee will add other relevant sections too for getting justice for the children," said BBA activist in Raipur, who was also part of the rescue operation.
It may be mentioned here that the BBA (under this campaign) along with state governments, district administrations and local organisations conducts rescue operations for a week every year. The rescue week begins on June 12, which is also observed as World Day Against Child Labour.
