UP government holds mass marriage event for over 2,300 couples in Ghaziabad

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath blessed the couples via video conferencing, said officials

More than 2,300 couples from different communities got married in a mega mass-marriage event in Ghaziabad, organised by the Uttar Pradesh government, on Monday.

The mass marriage event was organised by the Uttar Pradesh government, in Ghaziabad on Monday. (Sakib Ali/HT)

Several state government ministers also attended the ceremony and blessed the newly wedded couples. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, too, blessed the couples via video conferencing.

Out of the total 2,306 couples, 812 couples from the Muslim community and six couples from the Buddhist community. The remaining couples were from the Hindu community. The couples are residents of Ghaziabad, Hapur and Bulandshahr, according to the officials.

“The mass marriage event was held on the auspicious day of ‘devutthan ekdashi’ and the labour department put in a lot of efforts to make it successful. Daughters are above caste, beliefs and religion... They are daughters to everyone. There’s a saying -- ‘Gaon Ki Beti, Sab Ki Beti’... You should remember that mass marriage events could not take place here before 2017, as the state administration did not make arrangements for it,” CM Adityanath said on Monday.

“Someone who has experienced the pain and suffering of the poor will be able to help them out. Such events create social participation... the entire society attends such events. Relatives of many such women stay away from them so that they don’t have to help them, especially financially... Now, our ministers and officers help to organise such mass marriage events. When such marriage events are arranged, it shows that the common people are getting the true benefits of independence,” he said, adding that “such initiatives also lessen/defeat societal evils like dowry and child marriage”.

The labour department in Gautam Budh Nagar took the initiative to help unmarried women among the registered labourers, according to its officials.

The family of a woman also gets ₹75,000 under such arrangements, and ₹55,000 if her family gets her married, said officials of the district labour department.

“Apart from this, we also made arrangements for huge pandals, and lunch for all guests. We also roped in band parties so that the couples get the real feel of the usual wedding ceremonies. Couples with different religious beliefs were married according to their respective rituals on Monday. Ministers and other eminent persons also attended the event and blessed the couples. There was a huge participation, and the guests said that they enjoyed the event,” said Ravi Srivastava, labour commissioner, Gautam Budh Nagar.

Officials familiar with the development said that “there were rumours that Muslim couples, too, will get married as per Hindu rituals during the mass marriage event on Monday”, however, the situation was tackled by making the people aware that wedding of couples from different religions will be held as per their practices only.

Danish Saifi from Dasna, one of the bridegrooms, said, “Marriage of all the couples was performed as per their religious beliefs only, and they were happy with the arrangements. Such events should be encouraged so that there is no financial burden on the family of the woman,” Saifi said.