KARIMNAGAR: Weddings are a burden on families especially that of the bride. At Kondayapalli, a tiny village in Karimnagar district, people are offering a helping hand to families with girl children.
Once a girl is born, they collectively donate Rs 5,000 as a fixed deposit to her family, so that it builds up by the time she gets married off.
The trust that has taken up the initiative, called ‘Maa Voori Mahalakshmi’, was set up by a man named Redla Srinivas, a Saudi emigrant. He has set up a committee led by Madupu Govindamma, an anganwadi teacher. Govindamma said that in 2018, the money was given to two beneficiaries while in 2019, the number of beneficiaries went up to seven.
Malyala Susmitha, a beneficiary and a mother two girls, said that the trust has been helping several families. The trust was formed to encourage families to have girl children and to prevent female foeticide.
The trust began when a woman in the village whose mother had died and father was away in Maharashtra got married with the contribution of all the villagers.