Nearly 4,000 children are working as laborers, half of them as domestic helps, in Chitwan district, said a local NGO working for the rights of children on Monday. 

A study carried out by Diyalo Pariwar, the NGO, shows, more than half of 3, 776 child laborers in the district are domestic laborers. 

According to the study, there are 619 child laborers in Bharatpur municipality, 565 in Ratnanagar municipality, 133 in Darechowk, 245 in Shardanagar, 139 in Bachhauli and 75 in Khairhani VDC. 

Releasing the report amid a function in the district on Monday, Kedar Khanal, executive director of the NGO, said, “The total population of child laborers in the district stands at 1,959 boys and 1,817 girls, and most of them are involved in the worst form of child labor.” 

Khanal further added, “A joint effort by both the governmental and the non-governmental sector is a must to fight against child labor.”
Speaking at the function, Local Development Officer Tilak Raj Poudel said, “Children in our country have been involving in different forms of child labor due to weak enforcement of the existing laws. Minimizing child labor will ultimately lead to the progress in human development index; hence everyone needs to work toward that goal.”
“Media monitoring of the child labor will significantly facilitate the eradication of the problem,” he added. 

Similarly, Shyam Raj Ghimire, an officer at Unicef Nepal said, “The media coverage of child labor issues will force the government to take legal action against the offenders and encourage authorities concerned to take strong steps to end the problem.” 

Media persons have expressed their commitments to support the fight against child labor, which is on the rise in Chitwan. They also laid emphasis on the crucial role of media to raise awareness among people on the importance of child education and skill development activities. 

The District Development Committee (DDC), Diyalo Pariwar and Unicef have been making efforts to end child labor in Chitwan. 
According to Child Labor Prohibition and Regulation Act-2000, children below the age of 14 must not be involved in labor. The children between 14 and 16 years can be involved in labor, but not in the worst forms of labor. 

However, more than half a million child laborers are involved in the worst form the labor, according to statistics.

Published on: 24 February 2014 | Republica