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DESME records over 300 children working as domestic helps in Sikkim

Source – Sikkim Express: www.sikkimexpress.com
Nirmal Mangar

DESME records over 300 children working as domestic helps in Sikkim

13 Nov, Gangtok: Even as the entire nation joins hand in celebration of Children’s  Day on 14 Nov which also commemorates the birth annivarsary of the First Prime  Minister of the nation Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the future of children working in  Sikkim strangles in a despair.The latest data accumulated by the Department of Economies, Statistics, Monitoring and Evaluation (DESME) reveals an astonishing figure of about 300 children being  serving as domestic helps in various parts within the state.
The official survey conducted by DESME reports that the children are being ported  from poor families background of Dooars and nearby by state of West Bengal. Whereas the survey report of DESME conducted on January 2001 reflected 16,557 children working as domestic helps in Sikkim. The survey has revealed 90% of the children are brought from the Dooars and other parts of West Bengal”, says one of the officials of the State Labour Department. Sources also revealed that pending funds from the concerned Ministry has stymied the labour department’s efforts on child labour.”No children have been employed in any factories or industries till date in Sikkim,” said DESME officials. For the strict implementation of the provisions of the Act, it is informed that the labour department is constantly conducting spot inspections of industrial units and  other establishments.
Meanwhile the Child Labour Commission has launched several awareness programmes against the child labour for past four months. The biggest challenge for the State Government now is re-habilitate these children, it is learnt. At the same time, the State government is faced with the problem of rehabilitating the children working as child labours who are from extreme poor family background. The children are brought to Sikkim via agents for household helps. The people has urged towards the government for investigating such intruder agents who are trafficking child illegally for sake of ‘handsome money’ and rewards.

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