Bhubaneswar, Oct 2: The Odisha Labour Department has launched a 44-day Child Labour-Free Panchayat Campaign across the state on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti on Thursday. This is the first time such a campaign is being undertaken across Odisha.

The campaign aims to work towards the complete eradication of child labour and ensure that children engaged in labour are brought back to school.

In a message, Odisha Labour Minister Ganesh Ram Singh Khuntia appealed to labour officials, education officials, local elected representatives, self-help groups and the general public to join hands to make the campaign successful.

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The minister urged all stakeholders to work collectively to identify child labourers, facilitate their rehabilitation and help them return to the mainstream of education.

The 44-day campaign will focus on creating child labour-free panchayats and building greater public awareness about the need to eliminate child labour from the state.