Agartala, Aug 5: Tripura’s Sepahijala district has reported the highest number of child marriages in the state, with 103 cases recorded between April and June this year, an official said on Tuesday.
Amid rising concern over the issue, the district administration has also successfully foiled 101 attempted child marriages during the same period under its flagship ‘Mission Sankalp’ initiative, aimed at curbing the social menace.
South Tripura district ranked second with 43 child marriage cases. Dhalai, an aspirational district, reported 33 child marriages and thwarted 31 such attempts.
Tripura ranks third in the country in terms of child marriage cases, as per the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) report.
Describing child marriage as one of the most serious social challenges in Tripura, Director of the Social Welfare and Social Education Department Tapan Kumar Das said the issue has taken a critical shape in the northeastern state.
“Economic backwardness is the root cause. Illiteracy, lack of social support, and influence of social media are also contributing factors,” he said, citing departmental findings.
Das said that in many rural areas, girls are still considered a burden, and many parents are reluctant to educate their daughters.
“Poverty, inequality and elopement are other major drivers of child marriage in the state,” he said.
In a bid to address the problem, the Social Welfare Department has taken multiple measures in coordination with district administrations.
“One such initiative is ‘Balika Manch’, a school-level committee formed in most schools, involving both teachers and students. If a girl student remains absent for several days, her classmates are encouraged to report it to the committee. The matter is then looked into and, if necessary, referred to the panchayat,” Das said.
Under the Centre’s ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ scheme, substantial funds have been allocated to conduct awareness campaigns on the harmful effects of child marriage, he said.
“We release funds to districts to hold various programmes on child marriage and related issues. While coordinated efforts have led to improvements, a lot still remains to be done,” he added.
Sepahijala’s District Magistrate Siddharth Shiv Jaiswal, who has been at the forefront of anti-child marriage initiatives, said ‘Mission Sankalp’ is specifically designed to address child marriage, teenage pregnancy and substance abuse among youth.
“Ten villages bordering Bangladesh have received the Aspirational Child Marriage-Free certification, having reported no cases of child marriage in the past six months,” Jaiswal told PTI.
He said recognition and incentivisation of such villages is a crucial component of the initiative.
“Sepahijala has emerged as a model district through strong community engagement and proactive governance,” he added.
On the growing role of social media in underage elopements, Deputy Director of the Social Welfare department Tiffani Kalai said, “Many boys and girls connect through social media and elope without understanding the consequences. In cases of elopement, we often don’t trace them, which poses a significant challenge in the fight against child marriage.” (PTI)
