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Journalism of Courage
The Raman Singh Government yesterday chose to flag off its ‘‘Kanyadaan’’ scheme at Rajnandgaon — a district infamous for child marriages. And the town’s Mayor Sudha Soni was among the 230 brides who tied the knot.
Under the scheme, the state government plans to host 5,000 marriages of girls coming from Below Poverty Line families every year. District Collector G.S. Mishra, who has launched a massive drive to stop child marriages in the district, and had got at least 80 such weddings stalled, felt that the scheme will prove beneficial for poor families and help in curbing the practice of child marriages.
The guest list for Wednesday’s mass marriage, held at the Digvijay Singh Stadium, included Governor Lt General (retd) K.M. Seth to Chief Minister Raman Singh. BJP’s Venkaiah Naidu, who came down for the ceremony, called it the ‘‘nation’s most innovative wedding event.’’
The 230 couples who tied the knot were mostly tribals, Dalits and Buddhists. A local maulvi, Hafiz Mohammad Raza, performed nikaah for five Muslim couples too. Their return gifts included a bicycle and household articles worth Rs 5,000. The local administration had arranged for the weddings after the couples produced their birth and income certificates.
Chief Minister Raman Singh said that nearly Rs 25 lakh spent on the ceremony was shared by some NGOs and social organisations. ‘‘It was a rare gesture that some social organisations provided gifts — silver jewellery, clothes and household items — worth at least Rs 6,000 each to the couples,’’ he said.
