In its campaign against child labour, the Hyderabad district administration on Thursday rescued 61 children and arrested seven employers from Balanagar in Pahadishareef, Medchal.

Another six brick kiln owners were arrested on Wednesday from Rachakonda for engaging children from Odisha, according to a report in The Times of India. Cases were registered against them under various sections of the IPC and they have been remanded in judicial custody at the Nalgonda jail and Bhongir sub-jail.

As part of “Operation Smile”, the children employed in a samosa cart at Shapurnagar in Balanagar, Noukar industries at Gandhinagar and brick industry in Puduru village of Medchal district were brought to safety, said DCP (Balanagar Zone) Sai Sekhar.

The children rescued were in the age group 3-16 and came mostly from Odisha and Maharashtra. They were sent to a rescue home.

On January 3, nearly 198 minors, including 110 girls who were working at a brick kiln in Peddakondur village on the outskirts of Hyderabad, were rescued under ‘Operation Smile’.

“The children belonging to the age group of 6 to 18 were rescued. They are said to be migrants from Odisha and were working with their parents in that manufacturing company. There were no schools for them and they were living in a bad condition,” said ACP of Choutuppal, M Snehitha.

Arvind, spokesperson for MV Foundation – an NGO based in Hyderabad, earlier told The News Minute, “Apart from the health problems faced by the children, they are often beaten up by their employers. Many children suffer complications due to work in factories and construction sites. They develop skin rashes, allergies, asthma, bruises on the body, fever, bronchitis and so on.”

Also Read: Child labour continues unabated, 198 minors rescued from brick kiln on Hyderabad outskirts