Noida, Jun 28 (PTI) Nearly two dozen children allegedly engaged as labourers were on Wednesday rescued from shops, eateries, and automobile workshops in and around Noida's biggest Sector 18 market, police said.

The operation was carried out as part of an ongoing child labour eradication programme on the instructions of Gautam Buddh Nagar Police Commissioner Laxmi Singh, a police spokesperson said.

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The official said the special campaign is underway from June 1 to June 30 jointly by the Labor Department, District Probation Office, NGOs, and the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) of the police department.

"As part of the campaign, 22 children engaged in child labour were rescued from different shops, eateries, and automobile repair shops in Sector 18 market and the Atta market, both under Sector 20 police station limits,” the official said.

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Challans have been issued as per law against those who had engaged the children as labourers, police added.

The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act 2016 prohibits the employment of children below 14 years in all employment and provides for prohibition on the employment of adolescents (14-18 years) in scheduled hazardous occupations and processes.

On June 6 and June 12, police rescued 25 and 19 children respectively, from different areas of Noida as part of the same campaign, according to officials.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)