India, Feb. 15 -- A total of 8,159 child marriage cases have been registered in Odisha since 2019, the state government said on Saturday.

Replying to Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MLA Badri Narayan Patra's question in the state Assembly, deputy chief minister Pravati Parida said that the highest number of 1,347 child marriage cases were reported from Nabarangpur district followed by Ganjam district with 966. Koraput district is placed third with 636 child marriages since 2019.

Last month, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) identified over 11,000 children as vulnerable to child marriages in Odisha.

NCPCR, which conducted a nation-wide survey of such students along with the state governments, found 11,053 such childre...