`50,000 reward for info on child labour in Odisha’s Ganjam

ACCORDING TO Ganjam district collector Vijay Amruta Kulange, the administration aims to make the free from child labour and ensure public participation in protection of children

Odisha’s Ganjam administration has announced a reward of `50,000 for individuals sharing “credible” information with government officials on child labourers in the region. In January, Ganjam was declared as a “child marriage-free district.”

According to Ganjam district collector Vijay Amruta Kulange, the administration aims to make the free from child labour and ensure public participation in protection of children. “We want to ensure that children of this district, like any other places in the state, go to schools in large numbers and pursue education free of cost. Our new initiative will help address many issues. School dropouts being engaged as child labourers will no longer discontinue their studies and nobody will ever try to employ children in shops and houses as domestic help,” said the collector.

The campaign for information gathering on engagement of child labourers will be launched after the three-day Raja festival is over on June 16, he informed.

The collector stated that the information to be submitted to the district administration should be credible with details of the child and his/her employer. “After verifying the information’s authenticity, the district task force will rescue the child. We have also asked the district education officer and block education officers to trace the school dropouts by visiting their homes,” Mr Kulange added.

By verifying the students’ enrolment details, officials will find out if any student dropped out of school. Teachers will visit the dropout students’ homes and talk to their parents. As the base year of enrollment, 2019 will be considered, officials said.