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Biomedical subjects

S R Banerjee

Publications and source records attributed to S R Banerjee.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1993

Agricultural child labor in West Bengal.

Five hundred agricultural child workers of the age group 7-14 years from nine villages of three districts of West Bengal were studied to investigate the socio-economic problems, health hazards and health status. Majority (65%) were Muslims and the rest were Hindus; 79% were boys and most were the eldest children in the families. Nearly 65% children were part-time workers of whom 54% were unpaid helpers and the rest mostly received meagre wages of Rs. 5 to 6 per day. Seventy per cent fathers and 96% mothers were illiterate. A total of 33.6% children did not attend schools and 37.6% had discontinued their studies due to poor economic conditions. Reasons for taking up jobs were mostly due to low family income. Almost 85% children lived in kaccha houses and 98.5% used open fields for sanitation. Different grades of malnutrition were observed in 77.4% boys and 88.5% girls. None had undergone any systemic health check-ups. The associated ailments recorded were anemia (68.5%), gastrointestinal tract infections (65.8%), upper respiratory tract infections (15.5%), vitamin deficiencies (81.2%), eye diseases (30.2%) and skin diseases (22.8%). Health hazards, to which the children were exposed, included heat-induced disorders (4%), mechanical injuries (16%), toxic effects of chemicals (3%), bites of poisonous insects (34%) and death of two children due to poisonous snake bite. No legal protection was available to child.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Child labor in suburban areas of Calcutta, West Bengal.

Seven hundred and fifty nine children in different sectors were covered in this study, which was undertaken by observational techniques, questionnaires and physical examination. All children belonged to the age group of 6-14 years. Nearly 30% children had migrated from neighbouring districts and states. Almost 88% were Hindus and 12.2% were Muslims. Seventy one per cent children came from large families. In 40% families one child, and in 59.6% families more than one sibling had joined the labor force. About 83% fathers and 93.9% mothers were illiterate. A total of 55.8% did not attend schools; 45.3% had discontinued school due to poverty (69.9%), father's apathy (8.4%), children's own attitude (10.4%) and frequent absence and physical assaults by school teachers (5.0%). The main reason for taking up jobs was low per capita income (70.3%). Wages were exploitatively low: as little as Rs. 50/- per month in 20.8%, for work of an average 10-12 hours per day. Only 4% had systemic health check-ups. Different grades of malnutrition were observed in 55.7% male and 29.5% female working children. The ailments observed included anemia (60.4%), respiratory tract infection (31.8%), and gastrointestinal tract infection (33.6%). Nearly half (52.6%) children were addicted to bidi smoking, 3% to ganja and 39.3% to betel-nut. The evils of exploitation are increasing inspite of existing child laws.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Child labour.

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Child↗
PubMed1990

Child labor.

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Child↗