Children - Terre des Hommes

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and quarrying in the state. Of these, 4,296 were reported to
be children in the age group 5–14 years, and 29,498 were
children up to 19 years. 87
However, estimates suggest that closer to 2.5 million people
work in Rajasthan’s mining sector, many driven there by the
state’s persistent drought and the failure of agriculture. Of
these, around 95 per cent are SCs and STs, 37 per cent are
women and 15 per cent are children. 88 This estimate would
place the number of children working in mining in the state
at around 375,000.
Research carried out by Mine Labour Protection Campaign
(MLPC) in Bundi district found around 55,000 people
working in the sandstone mines there. Of these, 85 per
cent were migrant labour, 94 per cent were SCs and STs,
approximately 20 per cent were children and 43 per cent
were women who had been widowed. In total, around 90 per
cent were in debt to their employers (‘contractors’) so can be
considered ‘bonded labour’. 89
Working conditions and wages are poor. Mine and quarry
workers in the informal sector are provided with no basic
safety or protective gear and accidents are frequent. Most
accidents go unrecorded, but one report estimates that there
are around 460 deaths a year in the mines 90 and many more
injuries. Workers are paid according to what they produce in
a day, but almost all earn under the Rs. 100 a day that is the
minimum wage in Rajasthan, and women and children earn
much less than men, as they are not able to do the heavy work
of breaking stones and instead are involved in tasks such as
removing mine waste. 91
Barmer district: Key facts
Total population: 1,964,835 (Census 2001)
Population (0–14 years): 847,335 (Census 2001)
Literacy rate:
Total 58.99 per cent
Male 72.76 per cent
Female 43.45 per cent (Census 2001)
Percentage of out-of-school children (6–14 years): 11.4 per cent (ASER 2008)
Percentage of children enrolled in AWC or pre-school (3–4 years): 38.8 per cent (ASER 2008)
Number of child labour (5–14 years): 58,320 (Census 2001)
Under five mortality rate (ranking):
407 out of 593 districts surveyed
(Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh)
Jodhpur district: Key facts
Total population: 2,886,505 (Census 2001)
Population (0–14 years): 1,170,568 (Census 2001)
Literacy rate:
Total 56.67 per cent
Male 72.96 per cent
Female 38.64 per cent (Census 2001)
Percentage of out-of-school children (6–14 years): 12.1 per cent (ASER 2008)
Percentage of children enrolled in AWC or pre-school (3–4 years): 48.6 per cent (ASER 2008)
Number of child labour (5–14 years): 51,206 (Census 2001)
Under five mortality rate (ranking):
249 out of 593 districts surveyed
(Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh)
87. Census of India, 2001.
88. MLPC, Organising the Unorganised, Bahar Dutt, 2005.
89. MLPC
90. MLPC, Organising the Unorganised, Bahar Dutt, 2005.
91. Interviews carried out with mining communities in Rajasthan, July 2009.