Blatant child labour has been reported from Perumbavoor in Kerala’s Ernakulam district, where children were allegedly forced to work for 10 to 12 hours a day for a wage of just Rs 50. Nine children were rescued by police during raids on plywood factories on July 20. Following the operation, police have launched an active search for the agents allegedly involved in the racket.
The rescued children had reportedly been brought from other states and deployed in plywood factories. A large racket is said to have been operating in Perumbavoor, trafficking children from other states for labour. Some of the rescued children are only ten years old.
Police and Child Line workers found that the children were made to work for 10 to 12 hours in suffocating conditions inside factories polluted with dust and chemical fumes. Despite the hazardous environment, the children were not provided with any safety equipment. Authorities found that these working conditions had severely affected the children’s health.
Police also found that the children had been brought from other states with the help of migrant labour. It is estimated that there are between 100,000 and 150,000 migrant workers in Perumbavoor, largely from West Bengal, Odisha, Assam and Bihar. Reports suggest that Malayali agents are behind this brutal human trafficking network. One Thomas is reportedly a prominent agent, and police have launched an intensive search to trace him.
This is a shocking incident from Kerala. It raises serious concerns over the existence of organised child labour and interstate human trafficking networks operating in the state. Since it is an interstate crime, central agencies should intervene and expose the conspiracy behind the racket.
