There has been a high incidence of child marriages in the last five years, especially in Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Salem, Theni and Erode. Since 2016, the percentage of child marriages has spiked from 0.9 to 3.1.
That the previous government failed to pay attention to the problem is one of the reasons, Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ma. Subramanian said on the sidelines of the launch of a campaign against child marriage in Guldalpatty, Kaveripattinam, on Thursday.
Speaking about vaccination, he said about 68% of the population had got the first dose. About 25% had taken the second dose as well. The next mass vaccination camp on Saturday would target 57 lakh people due for the second dose, he said.
He said the pace of vaccination under the AIADMK government was lukewarm, with a daily average of 61,441 jabs. However, after the DMK came to power, since May 7, the daily average rose to 2,72,000. As of date, 5,40,08,521 doses have been administered, he said.
Speaking on the implementation of the ‘Makkalai thedi maruthuvam’ scheme, he said 23.16 lakh people had benefited as of Thursday morning. This was a marked increase from 20 lakh people who were visiting hospitals for various medical care, including for diabetics.
