Children, barely 10-year-old, were seen cleaning and sweeping the grounds
Kailash Satyarthi's crusade against child labour may have won him the Nobel Peace Prize but in Uttar Pradesh, India's largest state, child labour continues to be a prevalent practice.
In Kannauj, three hours away from state capital Lucknow, Sunday was a busy day - preparations were on for Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's arrival today at the Tirwa Government Medical College where he will be addressing a seminar on potato farming. Some of those involved in the preparations were young children, barely 10 years old, cleaning and sweeping the college ground when they should be in school with books.
One of the young boys working alongside his parents on ground, said, "My age is 10 years and I am getting Rs 200 for this work." The parents working alongside confirmed that it was paid work for the children.
When questioned over the blatant use of child labour, the college principal blamed other departments entrusted with ensuring cleanliness, who had conveniently outsourced it to a private contractor, without paying any heed to who was actually performing the task. Principal VN Tripathi admitted "I found this out through the media. I will speak to the concerned department and will tell them to ensure that there are no children employed."
While the government officials may pass the buck, it will now be incumbent on the chief minister for whom these preparations were being undertaken to speak up and act against this social evil which has the highest resonance in the state. In a shameful indictment, a study by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights found that UP accounts for 15 per cent of the child workforce in the country - largest amongst all states.
Terming it condemnable, Dr Vinod Chandra, member of the Child Welfare Committee in Lucknow said, "The issue of child labour unfortunately is never on the government's agenda. We will be taking up the matter with local authorities so action can be taken against those responsible."