Dhar (Madhya Pradesh): On Akshay Tritiya, thousands of people will tie the knot at mass marriage ceremonies to be held across the state. However, the pomp and colour of the festivities hide a dark secret—that of unwitting minors being married off secretly when they should be out making the most of their childhood.
In order to prevent child marriages on the auspicious occasion, the Dhar district administration has asked everybody involved – from priests and wedding card printers to caterers and marriage hall owners – to verify the age of both the bride and the groom and inform the authorities if find anything amiss.
This year the Akshay Tritiya will fall on April 22 and the administration fears that many children might wed off during this day.
District program officer for women and child development Subhash Jain said, parents, mostly from rural areas, use the cover of mass marriages to flout governmental norms. Though officials do manage to stop such incidents on a few occasions, many others go unnoticed due to a lack of awareness among the public.
The officer said that if any of these persons find that the bride or groom is not of legal marriageable age, they must refrain from offering their services. "They should also report the matter to the district administration, so we can prevent it from happening," he added.
Child marriage is a legal offence. There is a provision of rigorous imprisonment for two years and a fine of Rs one lakh under the Child Marriage Prohibition Act, 2006.
As per the act, the age of the bride should be more than 18 years and the age of the groom should be more than 21 years old for marriage. "Marriage below this age comes under the category of child marriage," Jain said.
He said that the administration has appealed to the citizens to give information about child marriage. The name of the relative, neighbour or other person giving the complaint will be kept confidential. Apart from child line number 1098, a such complaint can be made on the mobile number and WhatsApp number of the administrative officers.
