GADAG:It may sound strange but is true. A man from Ramagiri village in Gadag district wants the state government to find him a bride. He claims that nobody is willing to marry their daughters off to farmers.
Manjunath Pujar, who has been looking for a bride for the last three years, is now 29-year-old. He owns five acres. He says he is frustrated as nobody is ready to marry him. He has given a memorandum to the gram panchayat president.
In his memorandum, Pujar stated that it is extrememly unfortunate that young prospective farmers are unable to find brides. “Parents of girls only want highly educated people for their daughters, Engineers are most preferred. But what about people like me?” he asks.
Manjunath has been searching for a bride not only in Gadag district but also in neighbouring Koppal and Haveri districts.
He now wants the government to endow him a Kanya Bhagya on the lines of other schemes. He has written a two-page memorandum and is hopeful that the government may start such a programme soon.
People in his village have expressed deep sympathy with Pujar. However, his demand was met with laughter initially from government officials and GP members. In fact, this is not the first time that he has made such a request. Some said they were surprised after hearing the plea but then it also generated some serious thought.
A GP official said, “This request is rare and real. We all laughed at the beginning and did not accept the memorandum 14 times. But he succeeded in convincing us in his 15th attempt. He urged the government to get a bride for him through any of the Bhagya schemes.”
Another official said, “Parents of girls do not want to give their daughters to prospective bridegrooms just because they are farmers. Such a situation leads to migration.” Pujar says he wants to get married so that he has a companion and somebody who would be there for his parents. Pujar has sown garlic on 5 acres and hopes to get `2 lakh profit within five months provided there rains well.