Children should be in school, not at work: Nirmal District Revenue Officer Someshwar

Nirmal: 'All children should be in school, not in labour work,' District Revenue Officer (DRO) Someshwar said while addressing Operation Smile programme at the Collector's conference hall in Nirmal on Friday.

informing that Operation Smile will be held from January 1 to 31, the DRO asked police, revenue, labour, medical and health, education departments, social welfare, village-level child protection committees and NGOs to work in coordination to identify child labourers and to find missing children.

The district officials concerned were directed to intensify checking at hotels, restaurants, cinema halls, railway station, industries and commercial complexes, and to register cases on those, who keep children aged below 14 years in work.

So far, 161 children have been identified in Operation Smile and 231 children in Operation Muskaan in the district and sent to the hostels with the cooperation of child protection units and NGOs, he explained.

ASP S Srinivas Rao, ICDS in-charge officer Vinutna, District Education Officer Pranitha, District Labour Officer Sravani, District SC Welfare Officer Kishan, Child Protection Officer Murali, Raju NGOs Srinivas, Gangadhar and others were present.