OWAI: Allegation over 70,000 children being employed as labourers in the rat hole mines in East Jaintia Hills District is not a fact and just a presumption, the Jaintia Coal Miners’ and Dealers’ Association (JCMDA) told Labour Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh in a meeting held at Deinchynrum Circuit House, Khliehriat in East Jaintia Hills on Friday.
The Minister held a meeting with the coal miners to discuss the issue of child labour in the mining areas of the mineral-rich East Jaintia Hills District.
“We never employed children in the coal mines and the allegation by IMPULSE NGO in 2010 is untrue,” JCMDA president Balios Swer said.
“It seems that the NGO which published the report which stated that over 70,000 children were enslaved in our coal mines is nothing but just a presumption in order to get foreign funds”, said the JCMDA president, adding that, “Child labour is happening everywhere but not in Jaintia Hills and in such a large scale as is being alleged by the NGO.”
Besides the JCMDA president, many coal miners including former JHADC Chief Hambertus Nongtdu and Sony Khyriem strongly disagreed with the IMPULSE NGO’s report.
JCMDA members suggested that awareness programmes should be organized in various parts of Jaintia Hills particularly in coal mining areas to make everyone aware of the Child Labour Act.
The JCMDA also informed that restrictions have been issued to coal miners that no children below 18 years of age should be allowed to work or should be employed in any of the mines in the District.
While lauding the initiatives taken up by the JCMDA, Ampareen said, “We want to tell the Central government that the information about large number of child labour is wrong and East Jaintia Hills is not like that.”
She informed that an appropriate action plan will be initiated to see that no child is allowed to work in the coal mines.
She also told the JCMDA to identify the locations for organizing awareness programmes and the expenditure involved. “Give me your plan of actions and I will support you,” Lyngdoh asserted.
Representative from the Health Department also informed the meeting that they have identified 66 numbers of health camp in the coal mining areas during the current financial year.
However, it was also informed that there was shortage of medicine to hold such medical camp for the welfare of the coal mine workers.
Meanwhile, Lyngdoh informed that so far nine cases have been registered against child labour in East Jaintia Hills.