They said the proposed fund could be utilised for the development of the working children through education, healthcare, and skill development.

The press conference was organised by 'Together With Working Children' at Dhaka Reporters Unity Auditorium, said a press release.

In a written statement Moslema Bari, executive director of Community Participation and Development, said a large number of families fail to meet up the basic need of their children because of the dire poverty.

In the midst of this reality, a huge number of children are involved in various types of work for maintaining their livelihoods, she added.

The statement said many of these children are deprived of fundamental rights like health service, balanced food and amusement.

This deprivation is functioning as bottlenecks that stop proper human development of children.

Quoting the statistics of national child labour survey 2002-03, the statement said

out of the total children in the country 7.5 percent are working children.

Of them 10.8 percent are boys while 3.6 percent are the girls working children, it added.

The speakers said most of the working children are engaged in various arduous jobs like agriculture labourer, transport helper, motor garage mechanic and ship breaker.

They said acute poverty compels them to be involved in hazardous activities and

their working condition is also not child-friendly.

The press conference was informed that a child labour policy is in the final stage.

The speakers said the opinions of parents and organisations concerned with the working children should be taken into consideration to make the policy more effective and acceptable.

They however praised the budget for its provisions for rural poor, urban slum dwellers, housing for floating population and other welfare schemes.

Shaheen Akter Dolly of Nari Moitree, Ratan Sarkar of INCIDIN Bangladesh, Md Fazlul Haque Choudhury of Social and Economic Enhancement Programme, Gita Chakraborty of Ain O Salish Kendra, Shahida Begum of SCSD, Tipu Sultan of SUF, Nishat Afroj Mirza of SCSD, Ismat Ara Mostafa of Nari Moitree, and Mahfuza Begum of CPD were also present in the press conference.