Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday claimed that teenage pregnancy in the state has dipped by nearly 64 per cent in the last two years as a result of the government's drive against child marriage.
Sarma said that the trend was observed in a recent assessment by a national NGO, which surveyed 3,000 villages in Assam on the usefulness of stringent laws against child marriage.
"Our rigorous mission against #ChildMarriage is not only bringing a societal change but also enabling a healthy life for our girls," Sarma said in a post on X.
The CM claimed that the number of teenage pregnancy cases in Assam in April 2022 was 9,330, which came down to 3,401 in June 2024.
"Our mission will continue unabated in the coming days," he added.
Addressing a press conference later in the day, Sarma said that the data was provided by an NGO, which carried out an independent survey.
"A big national NGO examined the status of child marriage in 3,000 villages of Assam. A big debate in the country is going on whether child marriage can be curbed through stringent law or it backfires," he added.
Citing the survey, Sarma said it was found that 81 per cent of the people support strong steps against child marriage, which is down by 80 per cent in the surveyed villages.
"The central government assessment will come in 2026 in the form of National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-6. The state government has given responsibility to the International Institute for Population Sciences to conduct an independent survey," he added.
Once the reports of these two assessments are published, a clearer picture of whether child marriages have declined or not will be available, Sarma said.
He said the NFHS-5 had highlighted the child marriage scenario in Assam and then the state government started its drive against the social menace.
Published 19 July 2024, 16:47 IST