The Department of Women and Child Development has directed all child marriage prohibition officers to remain vigilant during lockdown and take steps to ensure prevention of child marriages.
The Director of the department, on Wednesday, issued this order based on The Hindu’s report earlier this week. The story - ‘Rise in child marriage, physical abuse complaints during lockdown’ had pointed out that ChildLine, between March 25 and April 5, received 37 calls reporting child marriages and 32 calls related to physical abuse of children.
The Director, in a letter to all the Deputy Directors, pointed out that the child marriage prohibition officers need to be alert on April 24 on Akshaya Tritiya when the number of child marriage cases could be a matter of concern. “Officers need to pay more attention and need to take action,” the letter stated.
The Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights too has asked its members to investigate into the matter and pointed that the cases were coming from rural parts of North Karnataka. Antony Sebastian, chairperson of the commission, welcomed the move by the department.
“The commission members will also get on the field to verify the statistics,” he said.
Nagasimha G. Rao, child rights activists, has hailed the department for its quick action. “During times like these, there is a need to act quickly and not spend too much time to deliberate and plan. We hope the officers on field will be able to prevent child marriage cases,” he said.