The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Wedding expenses cause concern

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jul 07, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Wedding expenses cause concern

Special Correspondent

Private member’s resolution on subject discussed
Lavish spending on weddings decried

BANGALORE: Weddings are personal affairs, but legislators want to regulate the expenses incurred for weddings.

The issue came up for discussion in the Legislative Assembly on Friday. Vatal Nagaraj of the Kannada Chaluvali Vatal Paksha, who spoke on a private member’s resolution calling for the regulation of expenses for weddings, said, “Marriage is a social institution, and one who enters into the wedlock learns how to conduct himself in society.” Unfortunately, the rich spend crores of rupees on weddings to show off their wealth, he said.

N.L. Narendra Babu (Congress) contested the claims made by Mr. Nagaraj and said the Vatal Paksha leader had spent a lot of money on his daughter’s marriage, which was held at the Palace Grounds in Bangalore.

Ramesh Kumar (Congress) said Mr. Nagaraj was unaware of the customs and traditions to be followed during Hindu weddings and requested to him to provide suggestions on controlling expenses.

Mr. Nagaraj said some kalyan mantaps charged Rs. 5 lakh to Rs. 10 lakh a day, making it difficult for poor families to find a place to conduct marriages. H.D. Basavaraj (BJP) questioned the claims of Mr. Nagaraj and Mr. Ramesh Kumar and asked how many members performed their children’s weddings in a simple manner.

Kannada and Culture Minister H.S. Mahadeva Prasad said Mr. Ramesh Kumar and Mr. Nagaraj moved the resolution in the House on July 23, 2004. Since then the members had discussed the issue in many sessions. More than one lakh marriages would have been conducted since the resolution was moved, he said.

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