World Day Against Child Labour: Kailash Satyarthi’s Bachpan Bachao Andolan rescues 306 children from 13 states in a day

New Delhi (13/06/2023): On the occasion of World Day Against Child Labour today, Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), along with its partner NGOs, state governments, and the law enforcement agencies conducted 24 raids and rescue operations in 13 states and freed 306 children from the clutches of child labour. Maximum number of children at 92 were rescued from Gujarat, followed by Punjab at 57.

When the rescue team of BBA, founded by Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi, reached Besimari Bazar in Darrang district in Assam, the mob attacked them. The team rescued 20 children from the spot but the angry mob compelled them to release four of the rescued children. The police team had to come to the rescue of the BBA team. In total, 37 child labourers were rescued from the state of Assam.

Besides Gujarat, Punjab and Assam, 26 child labourers were rescued from Rajasthan, 17 from New Delhi, 13 from Uttar Pradesh, 12 from Bihar, 11 from Jharkhand, 10 each from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Uttarakhand, and 7 from Haryana.

June is the action month when NGOs and law enforcement agencies conduct raid and rescue operations around the country to free children from child labour. The month holds special significance for BBA as their founder Kailash Satyarthi was the one man whose fight and demand led to the formation of June 12 as the World Day Against Child Labour.

“As we mark the 25th year of the historic Global March Against Child Labour, the first global mass movement led by Kailash Satyarthi, we laud the progress made for protecting children. BBA has assisted 16 state governments and the Railway Protection Force in rescuing 1377 child labourers in the past 2 weeks alone from exploitative conditions and trafficking. We continue to work with the various state governments and law enforcement agencies towards making India child labour free,” Rear Admiral Rahul Kumar Shrawat, AVSM (Retd.), Managing Director, BBA, said.