Child marriages rampant in 6 Sirmaur blocks

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Box 1

No end to evil

Year cases

2015 16

2016 23

2017 41

2018 51

2019 49

2020 25*

(*till July 31)

Box 2

36 panchayats

The menace is prevalent in Renuka Ji, Shillai, Paonta Sahib, Rajgarh, Nahan and Pachhad blocks comprising 36 panchayats in the district.

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, August 5

Despite tall claims by the government on curbing child marriage, the social evil continues to be rampant in six backward blocks of Sirmaur district in Himachal Pradesh.

As many as 205 child marriage cases have been detected over the past five years. The numbers have only grown annually since 2015–the year 2019 being an exception when the count witnessed a slight dip (see box). In majority of the cases, poor parents married off their daughters to better-off grooms.

Alarmed by the trend, the Police Department has sent an advisory to the Director, Women and Child Development Department, to take “effective steps” to stop the menace.

Director General of Police Sanjay Kundu, who recently toured Sirmaur, observed that child marriage was prevalent in Renuka Ji, Shillai, Paonta Sahib, Rajgarh, Nahan and Pachhad blocks, comprising 36 panchayats, of the district.

In a communication to the Women and Child Development Department, Deputy Inspector General (CID) Bimal Gupta attributed the menace to poverty, illiteracy, old tradition and strong presence of ‘Khulmi’ panchayat system where influential people try to hush up the case.

The communication suggested that measures like constitution of task force comprising panchayat and anganwadi members, active involvement of women empowerment groups, extensive awareness campaigns, monitoring of school dropouts, financial assistance to poor families, education of girl child and skill development facilities be taken up.

Among the Renuka Ji panchayats where the menace is prevalent are Sangrah, Gwai, Nauradhar, Sainj, Andheri, Sangna, Jarag, Khud Drabil, Bharadi, Zhkando and Bailadi. Those in Shillai are Bakras, Kyari Gunda, Kota Paab, Koti Bonch, Panog, Nainidhar, Rast, Naya Panjore, Dubod and Shilla.

The other are Amarkot, Khambanagar, Dhaulakuan, Misherwala, Naripurkhaul, Dugana, Guddimanpur, Sharli, Nihalgarh and Poanta Sahib in Poanta Saahib block; Shilanji and Bagar Banoti in Rajgarh; Mangarh and Wasni in Pachhad and Banethi in Nahan block.