More than 1,000 children sell goods at city intersections, face abuse risks

New Delhi: More than 1,000 children, many of them under the age of 10, are engaged in selling balloons, roses and small items at traffic signals and busy intersections across the national capital, exposing a grim reality of child labour driven by poverty and social vulnerability.

A significant proportion of these children are girls, who face heightened risks of harassment and abuse while working on the streets.

The issue gained renewed urgency following a shocking incident on January 11, when a 10-year-old girl selling roses in Prasad Nagar was allegedly abducted from a traffic signal and raped.

The incident has sent waves of fear through families who depend on their children’s earnings for survival, while also drawing attention to the dangerous conditions in which minors are compelled to work.

Many children say they continue working not by choice but because of severe financial distress, even as they endure persistent harassment.

An eight-year-old boy selling balloons, who has six siblings including two sisters, said he works late into the night to protect his family. “I work till midnight instead of my sister because people always harass my sister,” he said quietly, adding, “we all work in the same kind.”

The vulnerability of girl children on the streets has forced some families to make difficult decisions. A 25-year-old beggar said he deliberately keeps his children away from such work. “I never let my kids work like this, otherwise these people start harassing them,” he said, expressing deep concern for their safety in public spaces.

Despite the risks, many families say they have no alternative.

A seven-year-old boy selling pens summed up the harsh reality with a smile that belied his hardship. “The family forces us to do the work for family income,” he said, highlighting the desperation that drives even very young children to contribute financially.

Parents, too, acknowledge that poverty leaves them with few choices.

A 40-year-old family head who sells balloons alongside his children said survival takes precedence over everything else. “We have no choice except selling these balloons, and our four children are helping to earn daily food,” he told Millennium Post, his voice marked by exhaustion and helplessness.

The growing presence of children working at traffic signals is not merely a symptom of poverty but a stark warning of deep systemic neglect, underscoring the need for immediate and sustained government intervention, stronger enforcement of child protection laws, and urgent social welfare support for vulnerable families.