10 October 2007, Hazaribagh, Jharkhand: The first big rescue operation was successfully carried out ever since the Labour Department of the Government of India issued the notification on 10th October 2006 regarding the ban of Child Labour in restaurants, hotels, dhabas and domestic settings. The raid which was carried out at various hotels, dhabas and restaurants by Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) along with the local police of the area resulted in the rescue of 53 Bonded Child Labourers. All the children rescued were in the age group of 7 to 13 years. These included 7 year old Mukesh who was being exploited for more than a year. 13year old Rohit, too, had been working under bonded conditions at a Roadside Restaurant for a whole year and thereby being deprived of his childhood as well.

The raid was carried out under the supervision of Govind Khanal, National Secretary of BBA and Shri Praveen Kumar Singh, Superintendent of Police (Hazaribagh). The cases registered were under the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act of 1986 and Minimum Wages Act of 1948. Action for the purpose of persecution was taken against 39 employers as well.

Also, Shri Praveen Kumar Singh, SP and Ms. Himani Pandey, Deputy Commissioner of the area, have promised to put in all the required effort into making Hazaribagh 'Child Labour Free'. Shri Praveen K. Singh has also notified all police officials of the Thana's of Hazaribagh to carry out checks to ensure that no child labour is allowed to exist in Hazaribagh. He also said that in case of any defaults, strict action will be taken against the SHO of the area.

We sincerely hope that these tall promises get translated into actions swiftly.

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