Brides get washing bats to curb alcoholism
BHOPAL: Carrying forward the message of liquor ban in the state in a phased manner, Madhya Pradesh panchayat and rural development minister Gopal Bhargav gifted 700-odd brides a gift for the larger social cause.
At the mass marriage of 700 couples and 21 nikaahs on the auspicious Akshay Tritiya day at his hometown Garhakota in Sagar district on Saturday, the minister gifted the bride’s washing bats (Mogaris).
But the bats were not gifted for washing clothes, instead they are meant to help the the brides keep their husbands and others under check if at all they indulge in alcoholism.
And the message too was loud and clear as it was written on both sides of the bats. While one side read in blue “sharabiyon ke sudhar hetu bhent” (a gift to reform the drunkards) the reverse side read in the red “police nahi bolegi” (police won’t interfere).
The community marriages which were solemnised under the CM Kanyadan Scheme also saw the brides get a smartphone each, besides demand drafts of `3000 each. “Illicit liquor is a big menace in the state and sans public participation, the government alone cannot put it under check. The bats are a symbolic gift to the newly married daughters to use it effectively against the alcoholics,” said Bhargava.