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This story is from May 3, 2009
They've lost out on life in making a living
If his hand gets burnt with hot tea, he cries a bit and resumes work. There's nobody to tend to his injury. And, he gets yelled at by the kitli owner if he breaks glasses or is caught chatting.
She suffers from breathing problems and skin ailments because of contact with powder, dust and essence while rolling out agarbathis. Owners of units provide material, but not gloves and masks.
These children want to go to school, play, watch television or listen to FM radio. But, they have to toil for 10-12 hours a day to feed themselves and their families.
Jayesh Parmar surveyed 100 boys (there are no girls) in the 7-14 age group working in kitlis on Ashram Road. "They're a depressed, unhappy lot. They may not be at the receiving end of physical violence, but they're being denied their rights and childhood," he says.
The study on plight of girls, aged 12-14 years, working for 50 agarbathi units in Bapunagar was conducted by Nirmala Chauhan. She found that 63 per cent girls want to play or chat, 31 per cent to roam around, 25 per cent to study and 58 per cent to watch television.
Both researchers are doing MPhil at Gujarat Vidyapith's Peace Research Centre (PRC) and Department of Gandhian Thought under the guidance of centre head Dr Pushpa Motiyani. PRC has been focusing on issues affecting children in the last few years, says Motiyani.
Of the kids Parmar interviewed, 75 were illiterate. They earned from Rs 500 to Rs 2,000 a month depending on age.
"Parents hand them over to the kitli owner like bonded labour. They're dirty as they don't have access to toilets and bathing facilities. This makes them prone to skin diseases," says Motiyani.
The agarbatti industry employs 99 per cent girls as they're more dextrous at rolling agarbathis. All they're paid for a packet of 1,000 agarbattis is Rs 6 or Rs 8!
The girls also suffer from constant colds, body ache and stiffness of hands and feet. And, 89 per cent of their parents don't know child labour, especially in a hazardous industry, is illegal!
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