JUMLA: The then Hanku VDC, currently restructured as Tatopani Rural Municipality-4, in Jumla district ranked the first in terms of the number of child marriage cases in the district.

Out of the 26 VDCs which were in existence before the recent local level restructuring, this VDC had 73 reported cases of child marriages, informed District Coordination Committee's Senior Programme Officer Chhetra Bahadur Budha Thapa.

At a two-day orientation programme organised to declare Tatopani and Dillicharu VDCs as child-friendly VDCs, this figure was shared.

Although child clubs were set up to educate children on their rights, their inactivity and lack of strict implementation of the laws against this social practice caused the rise in the cases of child marriage, shared the participants.

They also blamed school teachers and guardians for this in addition to the misuse of mobile phones by the children.