BENGALURU: It had been a knotty issue. And the state government had to rethink on its annual ‘Sapthapadi’, the mass marriage event, thanks to the pandemic. Earlier, it was planned to conduct it twice a year. But keeping the crowds in mind, the government has decided to hold it twice every month, starting from January.
“We will look for two good auspicious days every month and announce it 15 days in advance so that people who desire to get married or parents who want their children to get married can apply,’’ Endowment minister Kota Srinivas Poojar told The New Indian Express.
To begin with, the government has fixed the muhurtham on January 15, 20 and February 20 and 23. This, according to the minister, is to avoid crowds. He said that only the parents of the bride and the groom will be allowed. Initially, the government had announced that the mass marriages will be conducted on April 26 and May 24 this year at 100 state-owned temples across the state.
But due to the pandemic it was postponed to June and July, only to be put off again to November/December. The government had planned to conduct the mass marriage of at least 250 couples – this was before the pandemic broke out. Recently, only 23 couples got married under the scheme. This is because the government could not conduct the marriages as some couples who had registered got married in a private ceremony.
Under the Sapthapadi scheme, the bridegroom will get a shirt and dhoti and Rs 5,000 in cash, while the bride will get a saree, Rs 1,000 in cash and 8 gm of gold for the ‘Mangalya’. The minister said they plan to invite jewellers for purchase of gold.