Bhubaneswar: A child marriage bid has been foiled at Garden moon Mandap at Dumduma HB Colony in Bhubaneswar on Friday.
Acting on a tip-off, the Childline Bhubaneswar, Child Development Project Officer (CDPO) Sandhya Rani Devi and Khandagiri Police arrived at the place and rescued the girl child.
As per the Anganwadi report, it has been proved that the child is born in 2005 but the family has prepared a false Aadhar card mentioning 2000 as her birth year.
Thereafter, the child has been handed over to Childline, Bhubaneswar.
The matter has been intimated to Addl. Child welfare committee, Bhubaneswar, and (District Child Protection Officer), Khordha.
A case will be filed at Khandagiri Police station today by the CDPO following which the minor girl will be produced before Addl. Child welfare committee.
It is to be noted that the Odisha government has decided to prepare a concerted, multi-sectoral action plan engaging all stakeholders to prevent and prohibit the age-old practice of child marriage.
According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 2015-16, as many as 21.3% of girls in Odisha get married before the legal age of 18 years. Along with the districts, the government will also focus on the urban poor in municipalities.
District task force (DTF) meetings will be held regularly to review the implementation of child marriage-free village initiative, rehabilitation, and skilling opportunities for adolescents rescued from child marriage or at risk of child marriage, child labor, and child trafficking.
