Mumbai Police Commissioner Dattatray Padsalgikar today said that over one thousand child labourers have been rescued from the city last year.
"Over a thousand child labourers, working in bangle-making and leather-bags making units, have been rescued. We have also rescued over 400 child beggars and arrested over a thousand people," he said.
"It our duty to rescue children from exploitative work conditions. We are always there for people, but it will great if we get help from citizens in such situations," Padsalgikar added.
The Police Commissioner was speaking at the inauguration ceremony of a six-day awareness campaign launched by Pratham Council for Vulnerable Children (PCVC), the child rights wing of NGO Pratham. The campaign named 'Complete the Circle' is aimed at drawing people's attention towards the issue of child rights.
Besides Padsalgikar, Shiv Sena MLC Neelam Gorhe, actors Sachin Khedekar, who is the campaign brand ambassador, and Spruha Joshi, were present at the launch.
Co-founder of Pratham, Farida Lambay, while elaborating about the campaign, said, "The campaign has been organised to mark the World Day Against Child labour, which falls on June 12. It aims to urge citizens to raise their voices and take action when they see children in exploitative condition."
The campaign will be implemented through social media platforms like twitter and Facebook, besides the signature campaigns, she added.
The theme of the campaign is child labour, child beggar/hawkers, girl child, children with special needs and child sexual abuse and education.
According to Lambay, several celebrities have extended their support to the campaign.
