New Delhi: As many as 39 child labourers working in two Delhi factories were rescued in a joint operation by Delhi government and NGOs on Wednesday.

A statement issued by child rights voluntary group ‘Bachpan Bachao Andolan’ (BBA) said that 31 children were rescued from a bag-making factory near Paharganj in central Delhi and another eight from a jewellery manufacturing unit in Nangloi in west Delhi.

As per BBA, the children were working for 14-15 hours a day, without any wages and on two meals a day. "Most of the children were suffering from cough and cold. When asked about any medication given to them, they said they were not given any medicine, rather were forced to work extra," the BBA release said.

In the second operation, eight children, hailing from West Bengal and Bihar, were rescued from a factory in Nangloi. They were sent to Delhi by middlemen who had lured their parents talking about the bright future prospects here.

The youngest of the children, eight-year-old Ravi, told authorities that his employers used to make them work so hard that sometimes he didn't know whether it's day or night.

"My employer never used to pay me wages. Whenever we used to ask for wages, he used to tell us that he would pay only when we go back to our homes," he told the NGO.

A total of 13 people were arrested during the two raids. They are likely to be prosecuted under the Child Labour(Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986.