New Delhi, November 21:

Over 200 children, some as young as six years old, were rescued from small zari, carpet and garment units in northwest Delhi today in a joint operation by the labour department and police. All the children, between the ages of six and 12, belong to Bihar’s Sitamarhi district.

“It is one of the biggest raids of the year and we had been planning it for three months,” said labour commissioner Narendra Kumar.

The raids in Seelampuri, North Gonda, Bhajanpura and Gautampuri localities, where such small industrial units flourish, would continue, he said. According to surveys of the area, over 400 children work in these units. “Our investigations found that these children are paid Rs 100 Indian Currency (IC) to Rs 200 IC every month and are asked to work for over 15 hours in a day,” said Kumar.