Koraput: Tribal majority Raigarh The district has declared at least 1,345 of its more than 2,600 villages child marriage free.
The officials said that a district level team comprising District Social Welfare Officer, District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) and Action Aid, Advisor to the Administration, in a probe into the exercise, visited identified villages under all 11 blocks where it was found that no child marriages took place between January and December 2021.
“Our officers discussed with the verified documents of the members of Panchayati Raj Institutions, Villagers and Child Marriage Prohibition Committees constituted at the Panchayat level to ensure that no child marriages take place in the villages in 2021.” Dharmanand BeheraAdditional District Magistrate, Rayagada.
Officials said it was a daunting task to make people aware of the consequences of the practice in Rayagada, which ranks fourth in the state in terms of percentage of child marriages. Behera said, “The percentage of child marriages was high in the district. We took it on a mission mode to stop it.”
The officials said that a district level team comprising District Social Welfare Officer, District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) and Action Aid, Advisor to the Administration, in a probe into the exercise, visited identified villages under all 11 blocks where it was found that no child marriages took place between January and December 2021.
“Our officers discussed with the verified documents of the members of Panchayati Raj Institutions, Villagers and Child Marriage Prohibition Committees constituted at the Panchayat level to ensure that no child marriages take place in the villages in 2021.” Dharmanand BeheraAdditional District Magistrate, Rayagada.
Officials said it was a daunting task to make people aware of the consequences of the practice in Rayagada, which ranks fourth in the state in terms of percentage of child marriages. Behera said, “The percentage of child marriages was high in the district. We took it on a mission mode to stop it.”