The child development project officers (CDPO) have been engaged to prevent child marriages across Bengal and the state rolled out a training programme that was flagged off in Burdwan town on Friday.
East Burdwan, recorded the highest child pregnancy cases in the state this year. Child marriage is a prohibited deal as per the provisions of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.
The CDPOs assigned to supervise the anganwadi centres in the state, according to the officials, are now accommodated in specific training schedule aimed to check child marriage. Sudeshna Mukherjee, district child protection officer said: “Today, the first such training programme in the state began in Burdwan where 16 of the total 23 CDPOs joined.”
The social welfare department of every district used to attend the grievances registered against offensive bids for arranging child marriage by the guardians. Now, Mukherjee said: “The CDPOs in each block will maintain round the year supervision in the localities to prevent such offenders.”
The figure of teenage pregnancy in East Burdwan, according to the National Crime Records Bureau, was 6,278 till October, this year and of them Ketugram- 2 block had the highest percentage of 26.60 per cent of recorded child marriage cases followed by 23.32 per cent in Bhatar. In East Burdwan, guardians of 23,788 children between 15 to 19 years age group had arranged their marriages flouting the provisions of the Prevention of Child Marriage Act, 2006.