SHAH IRSHAD
Although Child labour continues in Pulwama no case of violation has been registered yet as the official machinery has submitted to the views of children who willingly opt for labour and family situations that compel them to earn a living at a very early age.
The children who opt to labour at a very young age fall in two categories one, those who do not want to study and are willing to work at early age , second, those who have been compelled due to domestic circumstance. The children laborers are found on the motor garages, vehicle service stations and Dabawallas in the district.
Umar Gulzar (12), working at a motor vehicle garage said that the education these days is futile and benefits no more monetarily that is why he opted to learn repairing of vehicles.
He added examples of qualified persons in his village who are still unemployed. His father Ghulam Mohammad said that he used every technique, reinforcements both positive and negative to motivate Umar to study but of no avail.“He remained stubborn on the decision and continued work in the garage,” said Ghulam Mohammad.
But the circumstances are quite different for Adil Rashid (13) who works at a Daba in Pulwama. He has to feed his family of four being the eldest son in the family.
“My father got killed in an encounter and I was compelled to work and support my mother in family meeting the expenditures,” said Adil.
Officials from Labour Court said last year they raided various motor garages including automobile repairing shops, service stations and Dabawallas where from they took into custody about 20 children.
“It was all in vain as the parents of the children cordoned the Labour Court and compelled them to release the children after the intervention of Deputy Commissioner Pulwama who heads Child Welfare Department,” said Abdul Rashid Beig, District Labour Inspector Pulwama.
They also expressed their inability to rehabilitate the children that were being taken into custody as the district lacks in rehabilitation centre. Officials said that when they had taken the children into custody their parents asked us to feed them or release the children. However, the officials said that they dealt differently with the non locals asthey can be exploited and harassed by the employer.
“Last year we took two non locals into custody and after the intervention of the Deputy Commissioner Pulwama we asked the Daba owner whom they worked with to pay a remuneration of 4000 rupees to the children and drop them in Jammu,” said Beig, adding that he had just given them shelter and on their insistence he employed them in the Daba.