Odisha chariot rolls out to help end child marriage

Bhubaneswar: State Assembly Speaker Surama Padhy on Sunday flagged off the Bal Vivah Mukti Rath from the city and it will travel across the state until March 8 as part of the Centre’s 100-day intensive nationwide campaign to end child marriage.

Designed to take the awareness drive to the most remote and marginalised communities, the Bal Vivah Mukti Rath will traverse accessible routes using four-wheelers, while motorcycle and cycle caravans will be deployed to reach villages with poor connectivity.


Reaffirming the state govt’s commitment, Padhy said Odisha remains firmly determined to eliminate child marriage. “The state took proactive steps, including appointing panchayat executive officers and hostel wardens as child marriage prohibition officers, and designating headmasters as child marriage information officers. We will make Odisha child marriage-free at the earliest,” she said. She also announced that she would initiate a detailed discussion on the issue in the assembly and ensure adequate time for deliberation.

The Rath was flagged off in the presence of Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (OSCPCR) chairperson Babita Patra, who said sustained collaboration between govt agencies and civil society organisations was crucial to ending the practice.