As many as 228 minor children allegedly being taken to different cities in Haryana and Punjab for labour have been rescued from trains at Ambala Cantonment Railway Station over the past seven months.According to information obtained, 26 rescue operations have been conducted on the Jannayak Express and Karmabhoomi Express since February. The rescued children, belonging to Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Nepal and West Bengal, were later handed over to their families.The trains were headed towards Punjab from West Bengal and Bihar when the joint rescue operations were conducted by the Zila Yuva Vikas Sangathan, Anti-Human Trafficking Unit and Railway Protection Force (RPF), Ambala Cantonment.Zila Yuva Vikas Sangathan programme coordinator Ajay Tiwari said that despite continuous rescue operations, complaints continued to be received about children being taken for labour on the same two trains.“Since the trains halt at the station for only a few minutes, it is challenging to scan all coaches and identify the children,” he said.Tiwari said it had been observed that some young boys who had previously worked as child labourers were now bringing other children from their villages to work in the same factories and fields.He said NGOs were also conducting similar rescue operations at various other railway stations.On August 20, five minor boys from Bihar were rescued from the Karmabhoomi Express. Two of them were allegedly being taken to Jalandhar to work in agricultural fields and a grocery shop, two to Karnal to work at a rice mill, and another to Patiala to work at a grocery shop.After being rescued, the children were produced before the Child Welfare Committee for counselling and later handed over to their parents, who were warned against engaging them in labour.Ambala RPF post in-charge Ravinder Singh said regular inspections were being conducted on platforms and trains to rescue children. “The majority of the children were rescued from trains coming from Bihar,” he said.He added that whenever the RPF team found a child alone or wandering aimlessly at the station, the child was also rescued and handed over to the Zila Yuva Vikas Sangathan and Child Welfare Committee.Recently, the RPF team travelled to Odisha to hand over a minor girl who had been rescued at Ambala Cantonment railway station. Singh said she was initially reluctant to return but agreed after counselling.Zila Yuva Vikas Sangathan president Paramjit Singh Badola said children were being engaged as labourers because they were considered cheap labour and were less likely to complain.He called for a nationwide campaign to change the mindset of parents who send their children for work, those who employ them, as well as officials and the general public.Badola said the organisation had also decided to launch a special campaign to rescue children allegedly being forced by their parents to perform on trains and seek money.