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Article149.png”” alt=””Article149.png”” />Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi’s has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi drawing his attention towards the suffering of about 16 crore children across the country, resulting in an increased number of children being subjected to child labour, child trafficking, child marriages, devdasis and school dropouts due to the severe drought in several parts of our country. “”It is also estimated, that there will be an increased risk of lakhs of children becoming victims of these circumstances in the coming months, if the situation is not addressed on priority basis,”” Mr Satyarthi has said in his letter.

Additionally, it is has been estimated that this drought has seen an increase in children dropping out of school by approximately 22 percent and child trafficking by approximately 24 percent. He has asked the Prime Minister to declare drought as a national emergency immediately as well as get an assessment done of the condition of children in the drought-hit areas to ensure that no children are pushed into trafficking, labour, or even drop out of the schools. Mr Satyarthi has also suggested that unspent Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds, especially from the public sector undertaking, should be diverted for child-centric drought relief measures.”