Twenty-four children were rescued in a joint operation of the Labour Department and Delhi Police under the supervision of Sub-Divisional Magistrate (Rohini) from bag-stitching, shoe stitching-units and garment factories in Mangolpuri and Aman Vihar, police said today.
The rescue operation was conducted on the complaint of Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), an NGO which works for children. The kids were forced to work for long hours in this sweltering heat and were exposed to harmful chemicals in the form of solutions used in making the upper part of the shoe.
All the children were between 8 to 15 years of age and belonged to Uttar Pradesh and Sitamarhi, Madhubani districts of Bihar. Most of the children were not paid any money and were working in closed rooms, police said.
"I used to work in the shoe stitching factory and was promised to get more than 500 rupees but I haven't been paid a single penny till now," BBA quoted an eight-year-old boy as saying. He was trafficked from Bihar.
While counseling these children, it was revealed that they were trafficked for forced labour under the false pretext and lure of better livelihood opportunities, said BBA officials.
"I used to get up at 8 in the morning and work till 1 at night. There was no timing for food and sometimes they gave me lot of work. Sometimes, we had to work among heavy machinery and hazardous chemical too," said another 12-year-old boy.
