Agartala, July 31, 2025: A major awareness programme against child marriage was held on Wednesday at Nazrul Kalakshetra in Unakoti district led by SC Welfare Minister Sudhangshu Das. Various school students, principals, teachers, the Superintendent of Police (SP) Sudhambika R., advocates, officials from the Social Welfare and Social Education Departments (SW&SE) and public representatives attended the event.

Addressing the gathering, Minister Das announced the formation of a special awareness team in his constituency to bring awareness at every village level. The team will include a Sub-Divisional Officer, police personnel, public representatives, legal experts and department officials.

“A schedule will be made within 2-3 days, we’ll constitute this team to visit interior villages like Masauli, Kanchanbari, Pachim Kanchanbari, Ratachhara, Saidarpar, Jaganathpur and Radhanagar, and to spread awareness against child marriage,” the minister said.

In his address, ministers also shared alarming instances of teenage girls resorting to unsafe abortions. In one tragic case, a girl from Gokulnagar died after repeatedly consuming abortion pills, which caused severe bleeding and a fatal drop in hemoglobin levels.

“Due to immaturity and lack of awareness, some even use fake identities to undergo abortions. These are serious concerns we must address,” Das added.

Speaking at the event, SP Sudhambika highlighted the legal aspects of child marriage, while officials from the Social Welfare Department shared the hardships faced as a result of such practices.

In a stark warning during his media briefing, the minister said: “Several adolescents are getting married too early. This campaign aims to bring down incidents of child marriage to zero level by awareness with the involvement of local village level teenagers including guardians to encourage them and make them aware this will be conducted.”