Delhi based Nobel laureate social worker and Child right activist Kailash Satyarthi has taken note of the pitiable condition of children of colliery areas Dhanbad engaged in coal picking from the coal mining sites.
Omprakash Pal, Senior Director-Programme of Kailash Satyarthi Foundation has assured to take action over the report of large number of children being engaged in illegal mining as informed by Dev Kumar Verma, a coal town based BCCL executive engaged in providing free of cost education to over 500 coal picker children.
Verma who operates five schools in different parts of district under the banner of Pathshala Educational Trust is all set to meet Om Prakash Pal in this regard on May 1 to work out the plan of action to help these children.
Talking to The Telegraph Online today, Dev Kumar Verma, “We have been engaged in discussion with Kailash Satyarthi Foundation for over a month, writing mails apprising them about the ground realities in coal town colliery areas where children of financially backward sections of the society are being compelled by their parents to carry out coal picking from illegal mining sites due to lack of alternative source of livelihood and also to some extent due lure of money”
“Though, we are trying our level best to bring such children into the mainstream of society by providing them education in our five schools at Prem Nagar, Bhaga Basti, Rani Bazar, Nichitpur and Palany in Dhanbad but many of the children are leaving schools to join their parents in coal picking at illegal mining sites and we are finding difficulty in preventing them from coal picking work” said Kumar.
“Some of our students and family members have also turned victims of frequent accidents taking place during illegal mining and one of my students along with her grandmother was recently killed during the fall of mine roof that took place during illegal mining at Muraidih area of Katras on March 31” pointed out Verma.
“We approached the local authorities several times to take action against the illegal mining being carried out in different places of Dhanbad to prevent the children getting engaged in illegal mining and becoming victim of accidents but finding no tangible action we have decided to approach the Kailash Satyarthi Foundation which has taken note of problem pointed out by us and assured to extend support to our mission to bring these children into the mainstream of society” further said Verma.