130 children rescued from bangle-making units

Hyderabad: As many as 130 children employed as child labourers in bangle making units in Old City were rescued by police and Child Welfare department officials on Saturday. The officials said that nearly 88 children were sent back to their homes and added that the remaining would be sent in a week.
Child Protection Officer of Hyderabad Imtiyaz Ahmed said that the children were forced to work in pathetic conditions in these bangle making units in the Old City area. After receiving credible information, the children were rescued and were sent to Bihar on Sunday morning.
The officer also said that the children between ages six and 16 years were brought through mediators on a contract basis by paying some nominal amount to their parents. “The children were not aware of how much the employer paid their parents and were not assigned any specific work timings,” the officer said.
The children were sent to Bihar in Patna Express from Secunderabad, wherein some police officials and officers from Child and Women Welfare department accompanied them.
The CPO also said that a child who was brought to Hyderabad under bonded labour was beaten to death. The boy’s parents were so poor that they could not afford to take their son’s body to home. “We are making all efforts to curb illegal manning of children at hazardous industries. Juvenile Welfare department, Child and Women Welfare department and police have jointly done the operation to successfully rescue the children,” said officer Imtiyaz.