Poverty and lack of farm produce were stated as the main reason for child labour. The employers also preferred children because of ease of management, discipline, and lack of labour unions. The children in these industries suffered from a backache, neckache, tuberculosis, malnutrition, gastrointestinal disorders, dermatitis, respiratory disorders, over-exhaustion, burn injuries and water-borne diseases due to exposure to harmful chemicals in the work environment. The situation of the child labour came to light during an accident of a bus transporting the children in 1976. The central government appointed a one-man committee under Harbans Singh in 1978, who reported abolishing child labour would seriously impact the economy of the region. The National Policy on child labour was formulated by the central government in August 1987, aiming at the rehabilitation of children withdrawn from these factories. In 1988, the union labour ministry initiated a programme for providing informal education, free healthcare and free lunch for children working in the factories. The Supreme Court of India, in a judgement, ruled in December 1996 indicating provisions for preventing child labour like compensation for the child employed, employment to the adult members of the family and contribution to the corpus fund by the state government. From the establishment of child labour Act in 1986 till 2011, 150,000 inspections on child labour have been conducted in the factories, 1,500 cases have been registered and few prosecutions have been made. The results indicated a small amount of child labour in the cottage and household industries. Transportation The Sivakasi municipality maintains of the road. The town has concrete road and bituminous road. A total of of state highways is maintained by the State Highways Department. Four major roads connect the town with Sattur, Virudhunagar, Srivilliputhur and Vembakottai; there are no bypass roads around the town. There are eight major intersections located across different parts in these major roads. Sivakasi is served by town bus service, which provides connectivity within the town and the suburbs. Minibus service operated by private companies cater to the local transport needs. The town bus routes to surrounding villages are to Puliparaipatti, Thayilpatti, Madathupatti Vilampatti, Alangulam, Vilampatti, Alangulam, M.Pudupatti, Alamarathupatti, Sengamalapatti, Muthalipatti, and Meenampatti. The main bus stand covers an area of and is located in the heart of the town. The Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation operates daily services connecting various cities to Sivakasi. The State Express Transport Corporation operates long-distance buses connecting