In Krishnagiri district, Tamil Nadu, a growing number of child marriage attempts are being thwarted thanks to intensified awareness campaigns and community reporting. From January to May 2025, 49 child marriages were successfully stopped, according to District Social Welfare Officer R. Sakthi Subashini. However, 11 child marriages did occur during the same period, leading to FIRs against the offenders.

This marks a sharp rise from the same period last year, when only 20 child marriages were prevented and five were conducted. Authorities believe the rise in reported cases stems from greater awareness, not necessarily more incidents.

“From January to May this year, we received 116 complaints, of which 56 turned out to be false. Still, we were able to intervene in 49 valid cases,” said Subashini, who also serves as the district’s Child Marriage Prohibition Officer. She noted that girls themselves are increasingly using helpline numbers 181 and 1098 to alert authorities.

Significant progress has been made in prevention and rehabilitation. Over 50% of rescued girls have been re-enrolled in schools. Since January, 55 school-based awareness sessions and 59 in colleges have educated thousands about state schemes for girls. Over 8,000 wall posters on the consequences of child marriage were circulated, and 220 teachers were trained to detect and prevent such practices.

District Child Protection Officer R. Aravind added that reconciliation meetings with key stakeholders will now be held biweekly, chaired by District Collector C. Dinesh Kumar, to ensure coordinated, real-time responses.