HYDERABAD: At a time when children are at a crucial juncture between childhood and adulthood, 14-year-old Anusha (name changed) spent eight hours of her day picking stones and doing manual labour at the railway tracks of Shadnagar. For over a month, this teenager had grown accustomed to this routine. However, the Smile X team of the Cyberabad Commissionerate rescued her along with four other minors on Wednesday.
Operation Smile is a month-long initiative of the Ministry of Home Affairs, in collaboration with the police, Anti-Human Trafficking Unit, child welfare, labour, revenue and welfare departments to trace and rescue missing children and reunite them with their parents.
With her parents engaged in manual labour, Anusha had few avenues left, especially when promised a daily payment of Rs 280. Missing education was not high a priority as despite being a teenager she was earning. While the rules mandate that a child will be provided free and compulsory education as a fundamental right, it is only applicable till one attains the age of 14.
“It was a private contractor, currently absconding, who employed her to work at the railway tracks. He had also hired three other girls and two boys aged between 14 and 18,” a sub-inspector, who is part of Operation Smile X, told TNIE.
While Anusha stays with her parents, there are many who are forced to live away from their parents. “In the absence of parents, the Child Welfare Committee takes care of the children. They are rehabilitated in a shelter home and given opportunities to continue their education,” a senior AHTU official said.
The Smile X team, in coordination with the child welfare and labour department, identify the kids engaged in labour. Subsequently, the cops raid the place of work and verify the official documents of the child to check if a missing persons case has been filed.
“In the case that the child is below 14 years, it becomes a legal case. An FIR is filed, the employer is booked and a penalty of Rs 20,000 is levied,” said Dr Narender Reddy, CWC chairperson, Rangareddy.
“Suppose the child is older than 14, the child and his/her parents are made to go through counselling and then they are let go,” he added.
The police also make use of the facial recognition software DARPAN to identify the missing children who are separated from their families. When a child labourer is rescued, they cross-verify with the photo available on DARPAN to locate the child’s parents.
Trapped for money
Speaking to TNIE, Smile X Team members said that most of the rescued children in Cyberabad have been pushed into labour due to financial reasons. “We find that in many cases the child’s family has migrated from another district or state and they get into labour work here. Due to financial circumstances, they ask their children also to start work at an early age,” a police official said.
When asked about the wages the children receive, he replied “Mostly Rs 200/day, including food. They say they offer food to make it look worker-friendly. However, there are instances when a child has been offered Rs 100 per day,” he said.