Nitish’s drive against dowry, child marriage from Oct 2

PATNA: Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Monday his government would launch an aggressive campaign against child marriage and dowry in the state from October 2.

Nitish announced this at the 11th foundation day function of Mahavir Vatsalya Cancer hospital, run with donations from devotees at the Mahavir Temple near Patna junction.

The CM said he got the inspiration to run a campaign against dowry and child marriage following a demand made by women, who had come to his ‘Lok Samvad’ (public interaction) a few weeks ago. “The call for prohibition was taken up in a similar manner after women made an appeal to the effect at the S K Memorial Hall on July 9, 2015,” said Nitish.

Speaking on the ill-effects of child marriage, Nitish said it results in malnourishment among women and children. “Though Bihar has always been at the centre of political changes in the country, it has lagged behind in launching agitations for social causes,” he said.

The CM also announced that Plus-II schools would be opened in every gram panchayat in the state to ensure reduction in fertility rate. It has been observed that fertility rate falls with increase in literacy rate, he said.

Nitish said the fertility rate of Bihar is higher than the corresponding national rate. “Though the fertility rate in Bihar has come down from 3.9% to 3.2%, it is still above the national average,” he said.

The CM also talked about drastic increase in regular immunisation in the state in the past few years. “The regular immunisation rate in Bihar has surged to 84-85%. Our target is to bring Bihar among the top five states in terms of immunisation,” Nitish said.

Courtesy: TNN