Over 2,900 children missing since Jan 2024 in Odisha, Khordha tops the list: Dy CM Parida in Assembly

A total of 2,975 children remain missing across Odisha, according to data shared in the State Assembly on Saturday. 

During the ongoing Assembly session on Saturday, the Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida informed that 11,337 cases of missing children have been registered across the state from January 2024 to date. Out of these, 8,362 children have been traced and rescued, while efforts are continuing to locate the remaining minors. 

The Deputy Chief Minister stated that the Odisha government is prioritizing coordinated action involving police, Child Welfare Committees and community networks to ensure safe recovery.

According to district-wise data presented in the House, Khordha has recorded the highest number of missing children cases, with 785 complaints, of which 576 children have been traced so far.

Balasore reported the second-highest figure with 683 cases, but only 114 children have been rescued, raising concerns over the district’s low recovery rate.

In contrast, the Gajapati district registered 659 missing children cases but reported a notably higher number of recoveries,  715 children traced, including those who had gone missing in previous years.

Notably, the winter session of the Odisha Legislative Assembly is underway. Earlier on Friday, the Odisha Government presented a Rs 17,440 crore Supplementary Budget for 2025–26 in the Legislative Assembly.

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The budget includes Rs 3,389 crore under Administrative Expenditure and Rs 13,716 crore under Programme Expenditure, besides allocations for disaster response and state transfers.