10.1.1 Commencement: 1995
10.1.2 Back ground:
Piduguralla Mandal is in the hinterland of the coastal zone of Andhra Pradesh. This area has been languishing in chronic backwardness due to poor dry land agriculture economy and lack of any worth while industrial development. The discovery of abundant limestone deposits in the area about a decade ago has turned out to be both a boon and bane of the local population. Numerous small industrial units have come up in the area to exploit the lime-stone deposits. They have taken up mining of the limestone. About 500 Kilns have also sprouted up for processing the lime stone for export. The mining and processing units, many of them unlicenced and unathorised, have created employment and income opportunities to a large number of people – both direct employment through wage labour and indirect employment through the consequential boost to economic activity. Apart from a host of other socio-economic problems like exploitation through low wage employment, development of large slums with small hutments housing the labour near and around the industrial units, heavy atmospheric pollution caused by the thick clouds of dust, smoke and awful odour emitted by the industrial units, haphazard growth of the town, lack of public services required by the growing population etc., it has also created a large scale child labour problem. The industrial units are employing large number of children in hazardous and arduous nature of work at low wages to keep down their costs and maximize their profits. This problem was noticed by CARDS during the course of its other normal activities in the area.
10.1.3 Activities:
1. Survey and collection of data of child labour below the age of 14 years.
2. Education and motivation of the parents about the hazardous and arduous nature of the employment of their children and the need to liberate and rehabilitate them as normal children.
3. Opening of 6 special child labour schools under the National Child Labour Project - (NCLP) of the Govt. of India.
4. Provision of education and training to the liberated children in the child labour schools including special curriculam of bridge courses for overaged children.
5. Provision of nutritious breakfast and lunch at the schools.
6. Free supply of books and other school kit.
7. Admission of the children into the main stream educational institutions after completion of the primary level in the child labour schools.
8. Grooming the children as useful future citizens.