Nearly 17 per cent of over 6.2 lakh pregnant women in Assam last year were teenagers, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Monday, justifying the crackdown on child marriages. Citing data from the Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) portal, Sarma said there were 6,20,867 registered pregnant women in 2022.

Out of the total pregnancy, 1,04,264 women were 19 years or less, comprising 16.79 per cent of the expecting mothers, according to the RCH portal data shared by the chief minister.?"Our drive against child marriage is for public health & public welfare as teenage pregnancy ratio in Assam is quite alarming. We're resolved to continue this drive until we fulfil our objective," he tweeted.

Amid protests in Barak Valley, Morigaon and Dhubri, the crackdown on child marriage in Assam entered the fourth day on Monday, with the number of arrests rising to 2,441 against 4,074 FIRs filed across the state. The chief minister also urged the people of the state to cooperate with the administration in controlling "this harmful trend".

The undivided Dhubri district, including South Salmara, accounted for the highest 14,438 teenaged pregnant women, followed by Nagaon with 12,188 teenaged pregnant women and Barpeta with 11,658 teenaged pregnant women, the RCH portal data showed.

Other districts registering high teenage pregnancy in 2022 are Goalpara (6,250), Kamrup (4,773), Darrang (4,584), Morigaon (4,254) and Cachar (4,049). Hill district Dima Hasaon recorded the lowest teenage pregnancy in 2022 at 431 women, the chief minister said quoting the data.