New Delhi: "Hands of a child were severely injured by cooking oil while he was making foodstuffs in a hotel," read one of the complaints which had come to the office of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR). It was not only one complaint but there are several complaints in which children have been living in the worst conditions and have to face abuse to survive.
May 1 is observed as the Labour Day but for the children who have been living on the street, the situation is much harsh and they fight every day to live on the street. In most of the rescue cases, it has been found that the children aged between 12 and 15, who are being trafficked from different states, are forced to work at an age when they should be going to school. They work with large machinery and poisonous chemical dyes with no protective gear such as gloves or goggles and earn a paltry sum in a week.
Picking up rags from the railway stations in Delhi, 16-year-old Ajit (name changed) claimed that he picks rags and sometimes works as a waiter to feed himself. "I have to feed myself, and from the rags, I easily earn Rs 300 to 400," said Ajit.
Many of the street children want to study but are living in Delhi with no shelter and without money it is very tough. After working for long hours, they spend the money on food and drugs because there are fears that someone can snatch their money. So, they do not save any money.
More than 500 complaints regarding different types of child abuse from Delhi have reached the office and they mostly involve child workers. "In most of the complaints, we have found that the parents had sent their children to Delhi so that they can earn money through which they can feed themselves," said another NCPCR official. Another problem which the children face is the compensation which they do not get because of little knowledge about the laws.
According to Delhi Police, six cases under Bonded Labour Act were detected in 2017 and 2018, in which more than 140 persons have been rescued. The rescue was done on the basis of information which led to the raid and the children were freed from the hell.
An official from the NCPCR stated that the children who live in street situation have to take drugs like glue and Whitner to survive on the street. "These children do not get food regularly and also they face abuse so to forget hungriness and abuse they take glue," said the NCPCR official, adding that they also do not get the smell of rags which they collect from the street. Yashwant Jain, a member of the NCPCR, stated that they have told Resident commissioners of different States Bhawan to help the survivors of their state. "Some children have the language barrier so we have told state government should appoint a state language translator in the Bhawan for better communication with victims and family," said Yashwant Jain.