You can find them in posh apartments, slaughterhouses, teashops, dump yards, construction sites and at rail and bus stations and the number of children working in metros and smaller towns is increasing every year.

Child rights activists and children’s groups say that lack of stringent laws and loopholes in the existing ones are the main reasons for the increase in child workers.

Though inspections are conducted regularly and help lines attend to emergency calls from children, the ground-level situation can change only with the combination of committed officials plus stronger sections in child labour laws, say the children.

Speaking to this newspaper, Federation of Children’s Movement for Right to Participation (FCMRP) president, Class XI student Pon Selvi (15) said, “Three to six months’ imprisonment for a businessmen who employs children is not a justified punishment.

They should be severely punished. They exploit and prevent children from enjoying their childhoods, which can never be given back.”

She added: “Political leaders often say that children are the future of the nation. Why aren’t they interested in updating the child labour laws with stronger sections to save child workers?”

Child rights activist Ms Virgil D. Sami said anyone under 18 should be considered a child. “In many firms, children aged between 15 and18 are employed and abused, physically and sexually in some cases. The age for children should be redefined in labour laws. At present there are different criteria of age for different jobs,” she said.

Ms Sami also pointed out that child labour had taken new forms. “There are new forms of child labour, in apartments as domestic help, and in big industrial sites as construction workers. Children are also counted as part of units of migrant workers brought from northern states,” she said.

Another activist, Mr A. Devaneyan, said that the district rapid task force should be publicised among children. “The anti-trafficking cell and task force should be publicised in schools so that they can alert government officials,” he added.

Anti-child labour day celebrations called off this year too

Like last year, Anti-Child Labour Day celebrations were called off this year too just a day before the event. Sources said that the programme was called off because Labour Minister C.T. Chellapandian was unable to take time out for the programme and senior officials were clueless about how to handle the situation.

Meanwhile many rehabilitated child workers from South, who were travelling by train to reach Chennai on Monday evening, were asked to get down at Madurai and return home.

The children who were eager to take part in the awards and cultural function were greatly disappointed with the cancellation.

Sources said calls had to be made to the around 400 persons who had been invited to inform them that the programme had been cancelled.

The government had allotted Rs 5 lakh for the celebrations. “Advance money was paid for eatables, gifts and other arrangements for the annual programme.

While we were working full swing since last week, making arrangements for nearly 500 persons, we were informed that the programme has been cancelled.

We have been asked to dump the eatables, which were delivered at our office on Monday morning,” said a source. “It was like a marriage being called off mid-way.

The children had been looking forward to the programme for the last two years. Many children who had a bitter experience last year were literally in tears,” the source added.

When contacted, Labour department officials said they were busy with meetings. The Labour minister’s assistant, Mr Dilli Babu told this newspaper that the minister was busy.

Jaya: tn leads in pro-children schemes

Chief minister J. Jayalalithaa asserted that Tamil Nadu leads other states in India in eliminating child labour practices and that her government is implementing several pro-children measures.

In her message on the eve of Anti-Child Labour Day, she said the chief objective of her government was to ensure educational opportunities, sound health and safe childhood to all children and mould them as respectable citizens as well as protect them as national assets.

“The government under my leadership is implementing several welfare schemes such as free education, nutritious meals, free laptops, uniform, textbooks and notebooks, geometry boxes, footwear, registration before the employment exchanges, to eliminate the practise of child labour and to reduce the burden of the parents,” she said.