Over 8,100 child marriage cases registered in Odisha since 2019: Govt data

The highest number of 1,347 child marriage cases were reported from Nabarangpur district followed by Ganjam district with 966

Published on: Feb 15, 2025, 20:37:17 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Bhubaneswar: A total of 8,159 child marriage cases have been registered in Odisha since 2019, the state government said on Saturday.

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has identified over 11,000 children as vulnerable to child marriages in Odisha. (Representational image)

Replying to Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MLA Badri Narayan Patra’s question in the state Assembly, deputy chief minister Pravati Parida said that the highest number of 1,347 child marriage cases were reported from Nabarangpur district followed by Ganjam district with 966. Koraput district is placed third with 636 child marriages since 2019.

Last month, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) identified over 11,000 children as vulnerable to child marriages in Odisha.

NCPCR, which conducted a nation-wide survey of such students along with the state governments, found 11,053 such children by mapping 26,415 schools in 19,683 villages/blocks.

Odisha was one of the states that reported a ‘very high’ incidence of child marriages during the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-5, there is a drop in underage marriages of girls in Odisha, from 21.3% during 2015-16 to 20.5% now.

There has been a slight decrease in girl child marriages in Odisha, from 21.3% in the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-4 to 20.5% in NFHS-5. But marriages involving boys below the legal age of 21 have increased to 13.3% in NFHS-5, compared to 11% in NFHS-4. In rural Odisha, this percentage is higher at 14.8% compared to 7.8% in urban areas

The minister said that in order to bring down child marriages in the state, child development project officers, panchayat executive officers, wardens/matrons of residential Hostels have been notified as child marriage prohibition officers. All principals of the school and mass education department/ higher education department of the State have been notified as Child Marriage Information Officers.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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