30 minors made to work at night in seeds plant

Child rights activists tip off cops; kids came from Bihar, local areas; factory owner booked

THE CHILDREN worked in night shifts from 8 pm to 6 am and were exposed to innumerable workplace health hazards, police said.

WHILE CONDUCTING a survey on child labour, the activists received a tip-off that around 50 minors were working in a seeds industry in the Medchal industrial area.

Coinciding with the World Day against Child Labour Day Medchal police, with the help of child rights activists, rescued 30 minors, all boys, from a seeds factory in Medchal industrial area on Friday.

Of the children found at Prasad Seeds, 11 are from Bihar while the others are from neighbouring areas.

The children worked in night shifts from 8 pm to 6 am and were exposed to innumerable workplace health hazards, police said.

The company is owned by one Karamanchi Prasad, 56. He has been booked for trafficking and under the Juvenile Justice Act.

The raid and arrest followed a complaint lodged by Bachpan Bachao Andolan, a child rights activist group. While conducting a survey on child labour, the activists received a tip-off that around 50 minors were working in a seeds industry in the Medchal industrial area.

They called in the Medchal police. The activists along with police conducted a six-hour search and rescue operation Friday night.

Speaking about the rescue operation, M. Chandana, state coordinator of Bachpan Bachao Andolan, said, "It was a challenge to rescue them. We received information that there are around 50 children in the factory. When we entered the premises, many of them escaped by scaling a wall. Some of the children hid under vehicles. With a lot of difficulty, we caught hold of them."

She added that the government should be proactive in identifying spots where there was child labour.

In summer, child labour is more in brick kiln making units while during rainy season they will be in seeds factories. Accordingly they should conduct rescue operations, she said.

It is learnt that a few of these children have been trafficked to work as bonded labour under exploitative conditions. The traffickers usually take advantage of the family's socioeconomic conditions and lure children on the pretext of providing decent life and education, said Venkateswarlu from BBA.

Recently Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi had moved the Supreme Court seeking immediate steps to curb spurt in child trafficking during the lockdown period.