THEBUSINESSBYTES
BUREAU
BHUBANESWAR,
OCTOBER 2, 2026
Child labour is a
social evil that deprives children and adolescents of their fundamental right
to education, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said on Friday as the Odisha
government launched a 44-day statewide campaign to make gram panchayats free
from the practice.
Announcing the launch
of the ‘Shishu Shram Mukta Gram Panchayat’ (Child Labour-Free Gram Panchayat)
campaign through a video message on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, Majhi said
the government had resolved to make Odisha free from child labour.
Under the campaign,
an awareness drive will be conducted across every gram panchayat in the state
over 44 days, with a focus on sensitising communities about the harmful effects
of child labour and encouraging collective efforts to eliminate the practice.
“Freeing our society from the evil practice of
child labour is not merely the responsibility of the administration; it is a
collective duty of all of us,” the chief minister said.
Majhi said the
holistic development of children was a key foundation for achieving the goal of
a Samruddha Odisha (Prosperous Odisha).
He appealed to people
to actively participate in the campaign and contribute to efforts aimed at
creating a child labour-free state.
“Let us all work together to help build a
child labour-free Odisha, where every child can dream and is empowered to
achieve those dreams,” Majhi said.
The campaign assumes
significance in view of the data available on child labour in the state. The
latest dedicated state-level survey, conducted in 1997, had identified 2,15,222
child labourers in Odisha.
However, according to
the Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, no systematic
statewide survey has been conducted since then.
