Hetauda, 12 Falgun 2082

Seven child labourers have been rescued from various workshops and garages in Hetauda–4 during a joint monitoring initiative conducted to protect child rights and control child labour. The monitoring was carried out by a joint team comprising CWIN-Nepal-operated Child Helpline Nepal 1098 Makwanpur, the Labour and Employment Office, Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City, and the Ward Police Office. A total of 10 workshops and garages were inspected.

All rescued children have been placed under the protection of Child Helpline Makwanpur.

Among the rescued children, one is from India, two from Hetauda–17, one from Jhapa, one from Birgunj, and two from Parsa district. They are currently receiving necessary psychosocial counseling services, and efforts are underway to reconnect them with their families. According to Jhabindra Gyawali, Manager of Child Helpline Nepal Makwanpur and Member of the Bagmati Province Child Rights Committee, the children will be referred to the Labour and Employment Office for legal procedures following family reintegration.

The monitoring team included Rudra Narayan Shah, Chief of the Labour and Employment Office Hetauda; Nayab Subba Sarmila Rai; Smjhana Adhikari, Program Officer and Psychosocial Counselor at Child Helpline 1098; Nirmala Dahal, representative from the Women, Children and Social Inclusion Section of Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City; and representatives from the Ward Police Office, Sanopokhara.

According to the Helpline, a total of 25 child labourers (22 boys and 3 girls) have been rescued from different sectors through similar monitoring activities during the current fiscal year. The Labour and Employment Office has reiterated that employing children in labour is a punishable offense under the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 2056.