Vijayawada: NTR district collector Dr G Lakhsmisha has directed that temple authorities must pay special attention to marriages held in temples and to ensure that every marriage is duly registered. He stressed that collective participation is essential to build a society free from child marriages. On Saturday, a special meeting of religious leaders against child marriages was organised at the Pingali Venkaiah Meeting Hall on the collectorate premises in Vijayawada, in collaboration with Vasavya Mahila Mandali and Just Right for Children NGOs. As part of the programme, awareness posters with details for display in temples were unveiled by Dr Lakshmisha, along with NGO representatives and temple officials.

Speaking on the occasion, the collector directed that display boards should be set up in every temple to inform devotees about legal marriage age, mandatory age certificates, and relevant laws. Vasavya Mahila Mandali President Dr B Keerthi, Endowments Assistant Commissioner Shanmukha Natarajan, representatives of Just Right for Children, and others took part in the meeting.