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Abohar, October 23
As many as 31 couples of the border Sriganganagar district and the neighbouring Malwa region in Punjab tied the knot during a mass marriage function organised by Baba Deep Singh Gurdwara Sewa Samiti and other NGOs on the Padampur road in Sriganganagar today.
Most of the brides and grooms belonged to families which had suffered losses due to the whitefly attack on cotton and other crops, poor paddy prices and the lack of work for farm labourers. Some of them said incessant rain had also upset their source of income.
An additional “phera” was coupled with a pledge that the couple would never try to opt for pre-natal sex determination. While 20 couples chose Anand Karaj, 11 were wedded as per Vedic rituals. Besides the couples, guests too took a pledge to desist from foeticide, not indulge in drug addiction and treat daughters and sons equally.
Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh lauded the NGOs of Sriganganagar for organising mass marriages, Kanya Lohri Utsav and awareness drive against foeticide. He said lavishly arranged marriages had pushed families towards debt. “Dowry, drugs and foeticide were blots on society and comprehensive efforts should be made to overcome this stigma,” he said.
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