The children who were rescued from Jaipur, in Gaya on Tuesday. Picture by Suman

Gaya, July 5: The failure of innumerable government schemes to contain child labour in Bihar came to the fore today when the state labour department produced minor boys rescued from Rajasthan in the conference hall of the Red Cross building.

A total of 124 child labourers, hailing from Gaya, Nawada, Nalanda, Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi, Madhubani, Motihari and Samastipur districts, who were rescued from Jaipur in Rajasthan last Saturday, were brought here by the Ajmer-Sealdah Express this morning.

The operation indicated minor boys being trafficked from villages of different districts of the state, ostensibly to provide employment.

The boys, in the age group of seven to 15 years, were sent to their respective districts after being provided with packets of refreshments. Officials of the labour department accompanied these boys.

Of these rescued children, 31 are from Gaya, 10 from Nalanda, six from Nawada, 58 from Sitamarhi, seven from Madhubani, six from Darbhanga, three from Bettiah and one each from Motihari, Muzaffarpur and Samastipur. In Gaya, most of the children belong to Nimchak Bathani and Khisersarai blocks. These children had been forced to work in bangles factories and embroidery centres in Jaipur.

“I used to set stones on the bangles in Jaipur,” eight-year-old Ramesh told The Telegraph. “I have four sisters and my father is a farm labourer.” Ramesh, however, could not explain how much money he was getting for the work. Another boy, Shani Kumar, who also worked at the bangle factory, looked a bit younger than Ramesh. “I have parents at home and a sister,” Shani said. These little boys were unable to explain under what circumstances they were forced to work at a place hundreds of kilometres away from home.

The acting Gaya district magistrate and the deputy development commissioner (DDC), Gopal Meena, said to check further trafficking of minor boys, an intensive check would be conducted at Gaya railway station. “All possible steps would be initiated to rehabilitate these boys under poverty alleviation programme. As an immediate relief, they would be provided around Rs 1,800, including Rs 1,500 for a month’s ration, Rs 200 for clothes and Rs 100 for medicines,” Meena said.

Meena ordered a survey to assess the availability of jobs to the parents of those children. Had the parents of these children been provided job under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, they would not have been handed over their children to brokers. Meena expressed the need for creating awareness among the parents of such children so that they send their wards to schools being run by the district administration. At the same time, he cautioned against sale of children for want of money. “Stern action would be taken against anyone found guilty of such crime,” Meena warned.

Gaya deputy labour commissioner Mokhtar Ahmad said following information from the Rajasthan labour department, an eight-member team of labour department officials from Bihar led by assistant labour commissioner Sujeet Kumar Rai went to Jaipur and rescued the children with the help of Rajasthan state labour department officials and the commissioner of police. Some people were also arrested and sent to jail in Rajasthan.

Assistant labour commissioner Sujeet Kumar Rai said the children of north Bihar districts — Sitamarhi, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, Madhubani, Samastipur, Motihari and Bettiah were sent to Muzaffarpur by a bus where labour department officials of respective districts would be present.

The rescued children would be admitted to schools being run under the National Child Labour Project (NCLP). At places where NCLP schools are not present, the children would be admitted to other government schools.