Hyderabad: The district administration and others face major problems while rehabilitating kids. A large majority of the kids rescued by enforcement agencies from workplaces were handed over to parents, who sent them back to work. Cautioning the parents or threatening them with legal action do not work as the parents have no other go.
“We rescue a group of kids and send them back to their parents with a warning that child labour is illegal. When we go on the next raid, we find the same kids at different workplaces,” said a Childline official.
Some children were admitted to state-run Children’s homes, welfare hostels and the NGO-run Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas. The condition of state-owned homes and hostels are extremely poor. One of the five children’s home located at Wanaparthy functions in a rented building, which is a part-time slaughter house.
“Children are sent home and the slaughterhouse functions till the off season. The children are taken back once the season is over,” said Mr Chandra Sekhar Gannoji, former chairperson of the district Child Welfare Committee. Officials said that the condition of the children’s home at Gadwal is also extremely bad.
Officials say that welfare hostels and children’s homes are overcrowded and lack even basic facilities. “We have visited these places and sent reports to officials seeking upgradation of facilities. Nothing has been done by the government yet,” said another former official of the CWC.
The district has no home for boys. The KGBVs and children’s homes are only for girls. Some welfare hostels accommodate boys. Though the CWC has made several appeals to the government, no facilities has been provided so far. Most of the rescued kids are boys, who are now living in overcrowded hostels or have gone back to work as usual.
