JEYPORE: In a significant achievement, the Koraput district administration has prevented around 65 child marriages, especially among the tribal communities, in the last one year.
Child marriage is prevalent in tribal communities including Paraja, Gadaba, Bhumiya, Bhatra, Halwa, Soura and Kondh, as their traditional customs ordain that girls should marry below the age of 18 and boys below 21. The practice is more acute in remote areas including Dasmantpur, Narayanpatana, Bandhugaon, Laxmipur, Lamataput, Pottangi, Borigumma, Kundra and Boipariguda.
As part of efforts to prevent child marriage across the district, the administration has formed grassroots-level child protection committees along with panchayat representatives, health and social welfare department officials and police. The committee has successfully stopped several child marriage cases and provided counselling to the girls, boys and their parents to deter them from such social bondage.
“We prevented the occurrence of child marriage just before their parents were about to perform the traditional rituals, and made them aware about the legal and penal provisions against it,” said ICDS supervisor-cum-member of child protection unit of Dasmantpur Akhabati Muska. He added that two such cases were prevented in Lulla panchayat during the last two months by the committee.
However, despite repeated awareness efforts at the grassroots level and surveillance in block and district level, such issues have not been completely eradicated due to tribal parents concealing marriages following the elopement of their minor children. “We face tough task in preventing such cases in remote villages, even after getting information about child marriages, where tribal girls engage in ‘Udliya’ (elopement of minor girl) with youths from the villages to other areas without sharing their details,” said a senior block level child protection committee member of Kundra.
However, the issue of child marriage is reviewed every month by the block and district level protection committee for further action. “Every three months, we receive reports on child marriage prevention from different blocks, which are then reviewed at the district level to determine the next steps,” informed district coordinator of child marriage Prasanna Mishra.