Bhubaneswar, October 2: The Odisha government on Friday launched the ‘Shishu Shram Mukta Gram Panchayat’ (Child Labour-Free Gram Panchayat) campaign, a 44-day statewide awareness drive aimed at eliminating child labour and promoting a safe and education-focused environment for children across the state.
Announcing the campaign through a video message on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said child labour is a social evil that deprives children and adolescents of their fundamental right to education.
“Child labour is a social evil that deprives our children and adolescents of their fundamental right to education,” Majhi said.
The Chief Minister said the state government had resolved on Gandhi Jayanti to work towards making Odisha free from child labour.
As part of the initiative, a 44-day awareness campaign will be conducted across all gram panchayats in the state to sensitise communities about the adverse impact of child labour and encourage collective action to prevent the practice.
“Freeing our society from the evil practice of child labour is not merely the responsibility of the administration; it is a collective duty of all of us,” Majhi said.
He stressed that ensuring the holistic development of children is essential to achieving the vision of ‘Samruddha Odisha’ (Prosperous Odisha).
Appealing to people to actively participate in the campaign, Majhi called for collective efforts to create an Odisha where every child has access to education and opportunities to realise their aspirations.
“Let us all work together to help build a child labour-free Odisha, where every child can dream and is empowered to achieve those dreams,” he said.
According to data from the 1997 state-level survey, Odisha had 2,15,222 identified child labourers.
However, the Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (OSCPCR)has noted that no systematic statewide survey on child labour has been conducted since then, highlighting the need for updated data to assess the current situation.
