13 year old hawks to keep hearth burning
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, February 19 2013: To many poor and hapless children like Md Khan (name changed), all the anti-child labour laws make little sense for they have to struggle for their daily bread day in and day out.

Usually, it is the parents who look after the needs of their children but in the case of Khan, it is the other way round.

13 year old Khan is a native of Wangbal Heiyel Loubuk, Thoubal district but he is staying with one of his aunts in a rented room at Hatta Golapati.

Rather than going to schools like his peers, Khan has been working as a hawker in Khwairamband Market.

It is not out of choice but inescapable compulsion.

Despite sweating all day, he can earn only Rs 100 to Rs 200 in a day.

The little amount of money he save is then sent to his ailing father Md Amu at Heiyel Loubuk.

Earlier, Md Amu used to work as a rickshaw puller but he is now suffering from chronic epilepsy and is bed-ridden most of the time.

Hawking wares

Md Amu was rendered an invalid after he was hit by a vehicle some years back at Hatta Minuthong.

This is the tragedy of Md Amu and his son young and under such painful circumstances, they see little relevance of all the anti-child labour laws.

Khan is the only child of Md Amu and his mother died when he was only six years old.

Driven by sheer poverty and all the tragic circumstances, Khan has no time to read or write.

In another word, he is completely illiterate in spite of all the laws and programmes of the Government to ensure free and compulsory education to all children of the country.

On the other hand, Child Labour Cell of the Department of Labour has been undertaking an awareness campaign in Imphal East and Imphal West districts since last year to put an end to the practice of child labour and send all children to schools.

Wall posters put up at different areas as a part of the awareness campaign requested citizens to inform concerned or nearby Municipal Council, Ward Development Committee, Pradhans or Gram Panchayat Members in case they came across any child engaged as child labour.

Again at a meeting of Pradhans in December last year, Labour Minister I Hemochandra announced that a programme to survey working children in Imphal East and Imphal West had been launched.

Imphal East I and Imphal East II Rural Labour Inspectors L Modhuchandra and S Subol said that they cover 25 Gram Panchayats each including Bamon Kampu GP, Andro Nagar Panchayat, Tulihal GP, Angtha GP, Top Chingtha GP and Yambem GP.

For the survey, Gram Panchayat Members are serving as first investigators within their respective areas while Rural Labour Inspectors are working as second investigators.

In the course of the survey, some children were found working in automobile workshops and hotels because their parents could not send them to schools out of poverty.

Due efforts are on to submit a final list of all such children to the Deputy Labour Commissioner at the earliest, said Modhuchandra and Subol.

Deputy Labour Commissioner E Tomba conveyed that the Central Government has already issued instructions to take up stringent measures in order to check the practice of child labour under the Child Labour (Prohibition) Act 1986 .

Altogether 14 working children were picked up from Bihar and Manipur in 2011 and 2012.Of the 14 rescued children, three were from Sora.

All the children from the State were handed over to Child Welfare Committee of Social Welfare Department within 24 hours while those from Bihar were handed over to relevant authorities of Bihar.

Child Welfare Committee then handed over the children to their respective parents.