Assam : Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi slams Himanta Biswa Sarma over the death of a minor pregnant girl in Bongaigaon

Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi on February 10 slammed Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for initiating drive against child marriage and said that Girls under 18 who are pregnant are choosing to deliver their child at home and are not going to the hospitals because they are afraid of getting their fathers and husbands arrested.

Taking a dig at the Chief Minister Gaurav Gogoi said that the crackdown on child marriages in Assam is a foolish step which led to the death of a teenage girl while she was on her way to hospital in Bongaigaon district.

Taking to twitter, the congress leader said " Today, we got to know a teenage mother died because she bled to death due to complications during childbirth in the absence of community & ASHA workers. Even ordinary families feel that ASHA workers will report the matter to govt & local police"

Earlier on February 9, amid the crackdown on child marriage in the state, the Assam government has constituted a cabinet sub-committee, to finalize a Rehabilitation Policy within 15 days for child marriage. 

The sub-committee comprises Health Minister Keshab Mahanta, Education Minister Ranoj Pegu, and Finance Minister Ajanta Neog.

Speaking over the same, Pegu said that the committee will study the various on how to rehabilitate the girls, who got married early.

''The cabinet sub-committee has been entrusted the responsibility to find a solution, formula or package for the victim girls who had to face the negative impacts of child marriage,'' he added.

Besides this, the cabinet also took some other measures and decisions, and one of them was the construction of 10 new district hospitals with a World Bank loan.

''The process of getting the sum from the World Bank has been completed. Another 25 rural hospitals will be renovated in the state,'' Mahanta informed.

As per the Mahanta, the cabinet has decided to earmark Rs 150 crore for the ongoing construction works of the seven cancer care hospitals.

The cabinet has also decided to reimburse money spent by the state government employees and officers for the treatment of COVID.