Bhubaneswar: For over a year, a campaign called ‘Beti Bachao Abhiyan‘ launched by civil society groups along govt agencies has been working to trace, rescue and rehabilitate missing girls and women in the state.
The campaign, which also works on creating awareness, prevention and protection of girls, was initiated in view of alarming data from the National Crime Records Bureau that revealed between 2019 and 2023, 16,649 girls and 70,222 women went missing in the state.
“These are not just numbers — these are our sisters, daughters, and mothers who have vanished. We cannot afford to stay silent. It is time for action, and we must act together,” said Nibedita Patnaik, joint secretary of the campaign, during an event here to mark International Women’s Day on Saturday.
During the event, civil society groups highlighted the growing cases of human trafficking and gender-based violence. “We need stricter enforcement of laws, faster investigations and community participation to break the cycle of crime. Every missing girl must be found and must live a respectful life in society with all dignity and rights,” said Lopamudra Mohanty, former chairperson of the State Commission for Women (SCW), Odisha.
Sources said the issue of missing girls arose when they went through the annual dropouts in schools. “We wanted to find out why children were dropping out from school and where they were. Then we found that many of the girls are missing, despite several drives launched by the govt, police and other initiatives like Operation Muskan and Operation Smile. This campaign cannot be successful without the involvement of govt authorities and agencies,” said Suryasmita Panda, secretary of Beti Bachao Abhiyan.
The campaign aims to collaborate with law enforcement agencies, women’s rights organisations and community groups. “Apart from rescue and rehabilitation, we also need to take steps for protection, prevention and awareness of people. When the whole world is celebrating Women’s Day with the theme of accelerating action, it is high time we must create a road map to combat crimes against women in the state, ensuring that no missing girl or woman is left unheard or unprotected,” said Pritichanda Dhal, a social activist.
A senior police officer said, “Special drives are being carried out to find the missing girls and women. While 1,862 girls were rescued in 2022, 1,858 girls were rescued in 2023, and 3,481 girls in 2024.”