The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : 450 tribal couples ring wedding bells

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Nov 03, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version


=

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

450 tribal couples ring wedding bells

D. Chandra Bhaskar Rao

Sathupalli accounts for highest number of marriages under Kalyanamastu

Kalyanamastu helped in promoting simple marriages: MLA
Many NGOs instrumental for the success of the programme

PHOTO: G.N. Rao

Khammam Collector Shashibhushan Kumar, SP Mahesh M. Bhagwat and MLA Jalagam Venkat Rao blessing the newly-wed tribal couples at Kalyanamastu programme in Sathupalli on Sunday. —

SATHUPALLI ( Khammam dist): Wedding bells rang louder for some 468 couples, highest number in the State at Sathupalli as against 849 in the district as part of the TTD sponsored Kalyanamastu (mass marriage programme) on Sunday.

Nearly 450 of the couples were from tribal communities. Some non-governmental organisations took the lead in reaching out the tribal youths, who in many cases have put off the marriages as it involved expensive rituals.

A few of the couples, who joined in wedlock here, have been living together for some time.

So was the case with Sode Jogarao, a Koya youth from Korrajulagudem in Velerpadu mandal and Mariamma of Vutagompu. The two were in love for long, but marriage was not in their mind as it involves huge expenditure in entertaining the entire clan to get its approval.

The village officials and voluntary organisations approached them with the offer of performing their marriage officially with fanfare in the presence dignitaries. Accordingly Sathupalli MLA Jalagam Venkat Rao, District Collector Shashibhushan Kumar and Superintendent of Police Mahesh M. Bhagawat were among those, who blessed them along with 467 other couples from the area.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Venkat Rao said the Kalyanamastu helped in promoting simple marriages. It is good that many of the couples from the tribal communities had entered wedlock under the Kalyanamastu programme.

Sathupalli accounted for the highest number of marriages in the State in the current round of the Kalyanamastu programme.

District Panchayat Officer S. Anil Kumar said many of the non-governmental organisations working in the area were instrumental for the success. Ashrita Society represented by Mr. Laleswara Rao was one among them thanks to their rapport with the tribal communities, he added.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Andhra Pradesh