Guwahati: Amidst the Assam government’s recent drive to end child marriage, at least two villages in Cachar district were declared ‘zero child marriage’ areas, an official said on Monday.

According to official, there were child marriages the villages of Rukni Part-4 and Bhairabpur Part-1 in the last two years.

District official conducted surveys in each home and obtained police reports to confirm the veracity of this claim. The villages have now been designated as zero child marriage areas, official stated.

The official further added that if even one incident is reported, this accolade will be revoked.

The official also announced financial reward that will be provided by the administration for the development of these two villages.

The District Child Protection Unit visited more than a thousand homes in both villages, official claimed.

Meanwhile, Minister for Excise, fisheries & Transport Parimal Suklabaidya praised the district administration, police department and social welfare department for ensuring that no child marriage took place in Rukni part 4 in the past two years.

He also heaped praises on Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for taking a strict approach in curbing the menace of child marriage across the State.

In January this year, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma declared that the state government would begin a campaign against child marriages in the state.

Following that, the Assam Police registered 4,244 cases and made more than 3,000 arrests, including those of the men who had wed girls under the age of one in February and their family members.

Later, Sarma announced that efforts would continue in order to achieve their goal of declaring Assam a child-marriage-free state by the year 2026.