A State level consultation to prevent child marriage was organised here on Thursday by the Voluntary Health Association of India (VHAI).
The representatives from the Women and Children Development, Health and Family Welfare, the Primary Education Programme Authority (OPEPA) and the Orissa Voluntary Health Association (OVHA) were present.
Around 200 participants of the workshop representing adolescent groups, SHGs and PRI members came from Ganjam, Balangir, Subarnapur and Rayagada districts.
The Government should increase the age of marriage as 21 years, said Payal, a participant, adding that girls are facing lots of problems which can only be solved if they are given equal opportunity in life.
The children asked the dignitaries how they can get opportunity to express themselves more in life and how to be a leader for change.
As per NHFS-4 report 21.3 per cent girls in Odisha are getting married before 18 years of age.
The Ganjam district as per the Annual Health Survey (2012) is one, where 38 per cent of the married women between the ages of 20-24 had reported to have been married before they were 18 years of age.
Saswati Patnaik from WCD, Snigdha Rain from OPEPA among others spoke.