Child labour at cracker units still a reality

BAGNAN (Howrah): Seven years ago, in September 1995, a blaze had charred 23 children at Haturia village, 3 km north of Bagnan. They were all working at a cracker factory. The accident had jolted the administration and like after any such calamity, pious resolutions were made. That was all. Things are no different now. Little hands still make fire crackers in the small, dark rooms that flank the muddy footpath snaking through the Haturia village.The factory that was gutted seven years back never reopened, but three new units have come up. Most of the factories are not licensed.
They are still raking in profits and the villagers who work there have remained poor as ever. “These people are hand-in-glove with the administration. The poor villager has no one to go to,� said Sabuj Dutta, former MLA. But Joydeb Ghora, BDO of Bagnan-I block, said he did not know about the matter. He would certainly take it up now. Some factory owners employ children to earn more profit, for they don’t have to be paid much. As many as 150 of them could be spending long hours in these death-traps. “Empty stomach doesn’t understand the meaning of child labour.
As far as the illegal factories are concerned, they will definitely be brought to book if found guilty. And we are trying to bring these poor children under the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan,� said Howrah DM Vivek Kumar. Even the families that lost children do not protest. Sabera Begum, 60, prefers begging than working at factories while Noorunnesa, 40, works in the field. However, nobody knows how long even they would resist rejoining one of these factories.