Odishatv Bureau

Bhubaneswar: Soon after reports of a young boy being grievously injured with his arm getting entangled in a sugarcane crusher in Borigumma area of Koraput, the State government today ordered a probe into the incident and asked the district administration there to take stringent action against the guilty.

The government will also bear all the expenditure incurred on the treatment of the victim, announced minister Ramesh Majhi. All necessary arrangements will be made by the district administration for proper treatment of the boy and the cost will be borne by the government, he added.

According to reports, Class-V student Damu Jani was crushing sugarcane when his inadvertently put his hand in the machine. The boy was rushed to Nabarangpur hospital but doctors there advised his family to shift him to Koraput district headquarter hospital. However, due to funds crunch, the family members brought the boy back home.

After learning about the incident, the district Labour department ordered a probe into the matter. The labour officer said that stringent action will be taken against those who are found guilty under the provisions of Child Labour Acts.

Meanwhile, this being the fifth incident over the past few months involving minors working at maize and sugarcane mills, child rights activist Ranjan Mohanty said it is necessary that all the task forces and committees formed at the district level to rescue and rehabilitate child labourers should gear up and function effectively to prevent recurrences of such incidents.

No preventive measures are being taken to address the issues even after repeated incidents, lamented Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati.

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