Child labour on rise in Assam: Top official

GUWAHATI: The state, especially Guwahati city, is facing an alarming rise in child labour, depriving children of their educational and other rights. As many as 196 child labourers have been rescued from different parts of the city from September 2022 to June 2024.
Many of these children were employed to support their families financially, while others were brought from different parts of the state by middlemen, said Kamrup (Metro) district Child Welfare Committee chairperson Jitumoni Dutta.
Dutta spoke at a programme organised by the district labour department in collaboration with the district legal services authority and Don Bosco Child Friendly Guwahati (CFG) — an NGO working to eradicate child labour. The event was held here on Wednesday to mark World Day Against Child Labour.
In a first-of-its-kind move, the district labour department distributed back wages to some of the rescued child labourers received from the employers. The ceremonial distribution programme took place at the Don Bosco auditorium in the Panbazar area of Guwahati city.
“Apart from poor financial conditions hindering children’s education and compelling them to work in garages and as househelps in Guwahati, the ambition to own mobile phones, which parents cannot afford, has become a significant factor driving child labour in recent times,” said Dutta.
However, Dutta said the employment rate of children under 14 in the city has decreased recently, offering a thin ray of hope.