India, May 1 -- Akshay Tritiya is an auspicious occasion for new beginnings - people are commonly known to mark the day by purchasing something precious such as gold, vehicles or homes.

In Maharashtra, officials from the Women and Child Development (WCD) department on Wednesday succeeded in preventing 29 child marriages across state scheduled on this day. Earlier, at a meeting held on the issue of child marriages, Meghana Bordikar, WCD minister, had told officials to be on the lookout for such occurrences on this day, considered auspicious according to the Hindu calendar.

"In a single day on Akshay Tritiya our officials stopped a total of 29 marriages in 16 districts. Eleven of those were from Marathwada, nine from Vidarbha and two each...