Two villages in Cachar declared child marriage free

Silchar, June 4: The Cachar district administration has declared two villages viz Rukni part IV under Dholai constituency and Bhairabpur part-I village under Katigorah constituency as zero child marriage villages in the district.

Arguably, a first-of-its-kind achievement in the state after Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma’s announcement, earlier this year, that the state will be free from the menace of child marriage by 2026 and that the Government will take steps towards the cause. Several arrests were made to curb the hazard of minor girl children being married.

Making the formal announcement of the declaration at Darmikhal High School on Sunday, State Minister of Fisheries, Transport and Excise Parimal Suklabaidya congratulated the parents and residents of the village for the remarkable and much needed achievement. “This is an incredible achievement when no instance of child marriage has been reported in this village in the last two years. I along with the Deputy Commissioner and SP of Cachar district and other officials have not come here to deliver lectures. We have come to salute the parents and congratulate the residents of the village who realised the importance of not letting their minor girls get married during their early teens. This will surely set an example for other villages and other places to follow. I thank the honourable Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma for taking such a sturdy decision and implementing the same with firm hands asking the police and administration officials of the districts in the state due to which we are witnessing such results.” He added that a ceremonial programme at Bhairabpur part-I will be held soon.

Cachar Deputy Commissioner Rohan Kumar Jha said they had surveyed each household and received reports from the police to confirm if the claims of no instance of child marriage found is authentic. Now, courtesy the achievement, residents of Rukni part-IV village will get financial reward from the Government. But he reminded the villagers that all the facilities and rewards might be taken away if a single case of child marriage is found in the coming days till the reward is presented, the DC maintained. Jha appreciated the efforts of the District Social Welfare Department for the ground work in enumerating the data related to cases on zero child marriage in the village.

Speaking on the occasion, Cachar SP Numal Mahatta informed that as many as 33 cases of child marriage were registered in the district while 88 persons were arrested so far. The SP underscored the need for generating widespread awareness on the ill-effects of child marriage in the society and said that a healthy police-public relation will contribute in making the society better.

ADC Mansoor Ahmed and Trinayan Das, the Assistant commissioner and in-charge of District social welfare department, also spoke on the occasion.