GUWAHATI: In light of the state government's continuous campaign against the social ill, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma stated on Tuesday that no child marriages had occurred in the state in the previous month.
On February 3, Assam began a statewide crackdown on underage weddings, registering more than 4,000 cases. 3,145 people had been detained as of Tuesday.
"In Assam, not a single child marriage has occurred in the past month. This is a significant accomplishment. Everyone has praised our efforts to combat this social threat," Sarma added.
He continued by saying that out of the entire number of people detained, the courts had granted bail to about 900 of them.
"I believed they would be let out of the jails in seven to eight days. But after 14–15 days, the majority of them received bail, which implies that the judiciary also praised our action," Sarma continued.
The CM had earlier said that those who are cancelling planned underage marriages, have changed their minds as a result of the campaign against child marriage.
The Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) portal reports that over 6.2 lakh of the pregnant women in Assam last year were under the age of 18, or just under 17%.
In its drive against child marriage, Assam government has concluded to form Bal Panchayats, meetings in the village level, in order raise awareness and discuss negative effects of child marriage.
This particular news was first announced by CM Himanta Biswa Sarma through his tweeter account, where the CM mentioned that, 10 pockets of child marriage in Assam’s Cachar district has been identified by a lawful team.
He further stated that, the launch of Bal Panchayat has been first announced in Cachar district. Himanta Biswa Sarma is of the view that, this particular launch is a add on from state administration’s side in the drive against child marriage in Assam.
As per the officials, the Bal Panchayats will figure out the child marriage prone regions, where the president of Panchayats will act as a nodal officers. The officials will be assisted by Angadwadi members and workers, doctors, police and ASHA workers.
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