4 kids rescued from brick kiln in Kolhapur village

Kolhapur: Four children, aged between 11 and 15 years, were rescued from a brick kiln in Kerle village of Kolhapur's Karveer tehsil, where they were forcefully employed, officials of the Kolhapur assistant labour commissioner's office said. The employer has been booked.A special district task force has been formed under collector Amol Yedge to ensure children are not exploited in any manner. The task force also has representatives of NGOs. The representatives have claimed that many children are forced into work at brick kilns. After verification, a team of officials carried out a search at the Kerle brick kiln and found four children working and carrying baked bricks, which officials said were dangerous to handle.The owner of the establishment, Pravin Shipugade (43), was booked at the Karvir police station.Vishal Ghodke, assistant labour commissioner, told TOI: "The brick-making season has started. Children need to be in schools. In this case, the parents of the children were working at the brick kiln. They claimed that their children were just helping them. But we found that the parents were getting paid extra for letting their children do the work. The parents are migrant workers from Karnataka. We got them to sign an undertaking that they will not let their underage children work and admit them in schools. It is dangerous for children to work in such places. It takes a toll on not just their physical but also their mental well-being. Therefore, I urge people to dial 1098 and let us know if any child is forced into such work. The identity of the informant will not be disclosed."Activists working against child labour said that since the punishment in such cases for the employer was just two years (which is less than seven years), the accused could not be arrested. They said there should be stricter punishment and added that the conviction rate is low.In the last year, the task force has searched 25 establishments, mainly hotels, and rescued children. If the children were orphans, they were sent to govt-run orphanages.