ISLAMABAD: The Thar Deep Rural Development Programme (TRDP) is working on a campaign to eliminate child labour from the Thar Desert carpet industry. Comic Relief, Save the Children UK and Save the Children Sweden are collaborating with TDRP in this regard. Entitled “Protection of Rights of the Working Children in the Carpet Industry in Thar Desert,” the project aims to address the child labour situation in a select number of villages. The project would try to improve child working conditions as well as enabling children to receive a good education, the projects country director said. The project would attempt to protect exploited children in the carpet industry who were denied their basic rights, he said. The project provided an opportunity for greater expansion and wider focus through the incorporation of a rights-based approach that specifically focused on children’s right to education, recreation and active citizenship, he observed. In order to achieve its targets, the project aims to help over 2,100 families engaged in carpet weaving in over 150 villages. The project formally started in January 2003 due to administrative delays. Initiated during a severe drought, the project was praised by the people involved in the carpet industry. Most children worked for eight to 10 hours each day but after the project’s intervention, their work time was reduced to three hours a day. online