Stories
Odisha Launches 44-Day Campaign to Eradicate Child Labor in Gram Panchayats
- •The Odisha government initiated a 44-day campaign on October 2 to make all gram panchayats child labor-free, concluding on Children’s Day, November 14.
- •Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and other ministers urged public participation to ensure children's rights to education and safety.
- •The campaign adopts a community-led approach, mobilizing existing grassroots institutions like PRIs, schools, SHGs, and frontline workers.
- •Key strategies include school retention, community sensitization, multi-departmental enforcement drives, and strengthening grassroots mobilization.
- •Gram panchayats will actively engage communities, identify vulnerable children, promote school attendance, and raise awareness about child labor.
Key Questions Answered
Odisha launched a 44-day campaign starting on October 2, which will continue until November 14 (Children's Day) to make gram panchayats across the state child labour-free.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi released a video appeal, while Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida (in charge of Women & Child Development) and Minister Rabi Narayan Naik (Labour & ESI and Panchayati Raj) urged citizen participation. The operational framework involves joint coordination by the Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Department, Mission Shakti, School & Mass Education Department, and the Labour & ESI Department.
The campaign's operational framework focuses on three main strategies: school retention and community sensitisation to prevent dropouts, multi-departmental joint enforcement and post-rescue rehabilitation, and strengthening grassroots mobilisation through panchayati raj institution functionaries.