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About
four lakh Indian children are engaged in hybrid cotton fields in four
cotton growing states, says a report by the India Committee of the ' (ICN). ICN's
director Gerard Oonk said, "The report makes it chillingly clear that
our cotton products are tainted with massive bonded child labour. Both
Indian and multinational companies are involved in this trade and
governments and international organisations should make every effort to
get the children out of this pernicious work and direct them to schools.
We would certainly urge Indian organizations and those of other
countries to do so." Based on the field research done by Glocal
Research, the report said that out of the total number of children
involved in child labour in the cotton industry, 2.25 lakh are below the
age of 14. The report also
said that the children are made to work for 8 to 12 hours with a paltry
earning of Rs 20 to 30 per day. "They are routinely exposed to
poisonous pesticides and often trafficked as migrants from other
districts and states," the report said. While in Tamil Nadu and
Gujarat more than 80% of the children are trafficked, North Gujarat 'receives' tens of thousands of children from Rajasthan every year.
The children often live in makeshift shelters and are vulnerable to
mental, physical and sexual abuse, the report said. The report accused
the 13 big Indian companies and two multinationals, Monsanto and Bayer,
for their involvement in this 'modern form of child slavery'. (Source:
The Hindustan Times: September 27, 2007) |
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