Closed eyes, open realities

Child labour might be disgusting but it's a reality. In our city, where traffic signals decide whether those kids selling wares are going to make money or not, the harshness of this reality is way too apparent. They can be anything from makeshift vendors to rag-pickers. For reasons economical, they contribute their bit to small-scale businesses but at what cost? At an age when they should be studying in classrooms and playing in the ground, they are toiling under the sun. And the worst part is their mentality towards education is discouraging. Over 76 percent of child labourers rescued in raids conducted six years ago in Mumbai went back to work eventually, according to a city-based NGO. With the prime minister launching cleanliness drive, perhaps we need to clean our city off our street kids. And send them back to school where they actually belong. Somehow.