Operation Smile: 266 children rescued in Adilabad

Children were given back to their parents, while orphans, destitute children and kids with special needs were admitted to homes run by the government

Adilabad: As many as 266 children below 14 were rescued from bonded labour during the 11th edition of Operation Smile concluded in erstwhile Adilabad district on January 31.

Officials said 235 boys and 31 girls were rescued with the help of the initiative introduced by the Union government. A total of 77 children were identified in Mancherial district, while Nirmal district accounted for 62 children. Kumram Bheem Asifabad and Adilabad districts saw 57 children and 68 children respectively. The children were handed over to parents. Cases were booked against those who exploited the children.

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The children who were mostly belonging to financially weak families are forced to become daily-wage labourers to meet ends of the day, suppressing their dreams and ruining their own bright future. They are engaged in cleaning hotels, serving food, cooking dishes, selling fruits, moulding and baking bricks and many other jobs at paltry wages.

According to officials, nearly 7,000 children were rescued through the eight editions of Operation Smile from 2017 to 2024 July. Children were given back to their parents, while orphans, destitute children and kids with special needs were admitted to homes run by the government. The children expressed happiness after being rescued by the government.

The Operation Smile or Muskaan, introduced by the government to eradicate bonded labour in 2017, is being conducted from every January and July of a year. The initiative is being successfully implemented by the women and child welfare department in association with the police and labour departments and a voluntary organisation. It is liberating the children from the shackles of bonded labour.

A team of seven including four constables and officials of these departments carry out the month-long special drives in order to identify the child labourers in an Assembly constituency. They counsel the parents and ensure the children go to school. They make sure that cases are being registered against the owners of small-time eateries, fruit vendors, bakeries, cloth stores, etc., for exploiting the children.