Quoting from an independent survey by Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Guwahati, NCPCR member Yogesh Dube said there were at least 343 child labour cases in mines and depots in 10 villages of Khliehriat and Saipung sub-divisions in Jaintia Hills region comprising two districts.
"While the working and living conditions in the mines are deplorable, a situation where children work in them is a matter of concern," the report read.
Expressing regret over the state labour department's "failure" to arrest the situation, Dube said, "The department has failed to identify and rehabilitate those children."
According to him, almost half of these children never attended school and more than 64 per cent were engaged in cutting and carrying coal
