Child labour on the rise in Noakhali
Mamun Chowdhury . Noakhali
THE number of child labour below 13 years of age has registered an astronomical rise in Choumuhoni and Noakhali municipalities during the last three years.
The child labour of this age bracket in these two towns now stands at 2, 720 as against 734 in 2004 and 1,400 in 2005. Of the total child labour at present, 1,100 are in Choumuhoni town and the rest are in Noakhali town. This was stated in a survey report of the Noakhali Rural Action Society, a local NGO.
Most of the child workers belong to the families who were affected by erosion of rivers and flood. The natural calamities forced many of these child workers to drop out from primary school and join the labour force for supplementing the income of their poor parents.
These boys are engaged in many hazardous jobs exposing themselves to various health hazards. They work from dawn to dusk at welding factories, bidi factories, workshops, motor garages and brick fields. Still many of them work as domestic aides and helpers of bus, tempo and truck drivers.
MA Rab, president of the Noakhali Tempo Motor Association, said most of the helpers of about 115 tempos plying on different routes are too young.
What is alarming is that some people engage these children in smuggling arms and other contraband goods into the country from across the border and drug peddling, the survey report said.
The owners of different establishments prefer child workers to adults as the former are obedient, meek and do not bargain over the wages
Though the majority of the child workers work from early morning to late evening their wages are simply peanuts.
Talking to New Age at the Maijdee Court Railway Station, 9-year-old Badal said he was a student of Class III at the East Jahajmera Primary School under Hatiya upazila.
The erosion by the River Meghna rendered his family homeless and landless and forced his parents to send him to workplace for earning money, he added.
A good number of boys of his age have similar sad experience that compelled them to discontinue their education and engage themselves as wage earners.
Barisal BSCIC evicts squatters
from 25 plots
Our Correspondent . Barisal
THE local administration of Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation evicted squatters from 25 plots of the Kawnia industrial estate in Barisal city on Sunday and Monday.
These plots were allotted to the interested people at different times since 1960 for the establishment of small industries. But the plots remained vacant since then as the people who got allotment failed to set up industries there. With the passage of time, some of the plots were occupied by floating and distressed people and some others turned into dens of drug addicts and criminals.
An industrial estate was established on 131 acres of land at Kawnia in 1960 for the promotion of small and cottage industries in this region. Two hundred industrial plots were created in the estate for this purpose. But only 60 plots were allotted during the last 47 years. Industrial units on 30 plots eventually turned sick while another 25 plots remained vacant during this period. Only five industrial units are now in operation in this estate.
They are surviving with marginal profits.
Robbery in 6 houses
Our Correspondent . Comilla
ROBBERY was committed in six houses at village Kandughar under Brahmanpara upazila in Comilla Monday night.
About 25 to 30 armed men entered the house of Akram Ali breaking open the door and injured the house owner, Zainal Abedin. They then looted goods and valuables worth about Tk 50,000.
The bandits entered six more houses one after another and looted goods and valuables worth about TK 1.5 lakh.
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