This mass marriage will be catalyst for cashless society

SURAT: When 101 couples belonging to brahman, dalit and other castes tie the nuptial knot at a mass marriage to be held in Surat on May 6, 7 and 8, they will not only be making a new beginning in their lives, but play the role of catalysts for people to move towards a cashless society.

The mass marriage will incur an expense of around Rs1.5 crore, but the entire financial transactions from vendors to ‘kanyadaan’ will be done through digital mode only.

“At present, 95 couples have registered for the programme to be held in

Puna

area of the city and there are 130 in the waiting list. However, we plan to hold mass marriage for only 101 couples. Couples from good financial backgrounds have been kept in the waiting list and those who will be married off at this function will not have to spend a single penny from their pocket. The entire expense towards hosting the mass marriage function will be borne by

Gujarat Vikas Samiti

,”

Pravin Bhalala

, a senior member of the social organization, said.

Every bride will be given a debit card of a bank with a deposit of Rs1 lakh in her account. Gujarat Vikas Samiti is also giving three-day training to 100 senior citizens belonging to families of the couples to make them familiar with cashless transactions. “We expect 25,000 people to attend the mass marriage on each of the three days. People wishing to present any gifts to the newly married couples will have to pay by debit or cash card and also need to take an oath that they will do cashless transactions in future,” Bhalala said.

Until now, Gujarat Vikas Samiti has organized 15 mass marriages which have seen 511 girls make new beginnings in their lives. “We can even hold mass marriage for 201 couples this year, but we have financial limitations. We don’t have enough donors,” another member of the social organization said.