Child marriages increased after Covid-induced lockdown, says Maharashtra women's panel chief

Chakankar said 37 child marriages were stopped in Latur alone, and cases were registered in connection with two of these incidents

Maharashtra Women's Commission chief Rupali Chakankar has said the number of child marriages in the state increased after lockdown was imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, reported news agency PTI.

Addressing a press conference on Monday, Chakankar said 37 child marriages were stopped in Latur alone, and cases were registered in connection with two of these incidents, reported PTI.

She, however, did not give figures or a timeframe in connection with her statement on child marriages increasing in Maharashtra.

The gram sabhas must pass resolutions to strictly curb child marriages and action must be taken against all those involved, including units that print wedding invites for them, she said.

Chakankar claimed the advent of mobile phones and other forms of technology created a "communication gap" between parents and children, which may be resulting in girls falling in love and eloping.

The police's 'Damini squad' must interact more with girls to protect them, she added.

"Some 18,000 complaints from 28 districts have been resolved by the commission under the Mahila Aayog Aplya Dari initiative. On Monday, we received 93 complaints in Latur and three panels will work towards solving them speedily," she said.

MLC Vikram Kale, Collector Varsha Thakur-Ghuge, Superintendent of Police Somay Munde, ZP chief executive officer Anmol Sagar were present on the occasion.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday said the state secured the top rank in attracting Foreign Direct Investment worth Rs 36,634 crore which is more than the sum of the investment received by Delhi, Karnataka and Telangana in the first quarter of FY 2023-24.

"Maharashtra which was ranked first in attracting FDI of Rs 1,18,422 crore in the FY 2022-23, also ranks first in the 1st quarter of FY 2023-24. As per the figures released by DPIIT, an FDI investment of Rs 36,634 crore has come in Maharashtra," he said on X, formerly Twitter.

Maharashtra's FDI is more than the cumulative sum of FDI in Delhi, Karnataka and Telangana which rank second, third, and fourth, respectively, he said.

"Under the leadership of CM Eknath Shinde, our state is moving ahead at a fast pace and Maharashtra has become the favourite destination for investors," Fadnavis added.

Fadnavis said he and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had delivered on the promise made when their government took over in June last year of making Maharashtra the number one state of the country.

(With inputs from PTI)

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