Uttar Pradesh village decides on dowry-free weddings

Lucknow: With 400 out of the 450 families in the village facing a debt burden due to wedding expenses incurred by them, the people have finally woken up to reality.

Latifpur village in Maal tehsil, on the outskirts of Lucknow, has decided to opt for community weddings to cut costs and give relief to families where weddings take place.

The gram sabha of the village has collected money to form a corpus fund of about Rs 2 lakhs which will help people in emergency situations that include birth and death, urgent health needs and expenditures like weddings.

The corpus fund system has almost ended the practice of money lending that came with abnormally high interest rates.

“Out of the 450 families, nearly 400 had either sold or mortgaged their land and other belongings to meet the expenses of a wedding. The problem was common to both bride and groom sides. The revelation was placed before the gram sabha and a consensus over dowry-free weddings was formed,” said Shweta Singh, the village head.

Lucknow, district magistrate Raj Shekhar, who recently reviewed Latifpur’s development plan said that the mandate of dowry-free community weddings has been formally included in the village gram sabha corporate plan.

“The corporate plan has over 350 points and interventions needed to provide a better quality of life to residents,” said Shweta Singh, who holds a master’s degree in computer applications and also owns a factory. Her husband Akhilesh, an advisor to the gram sabha, also contributed to the corporate plan. He has a doctorate in sociology and specialisation in “empowerment through policy provisions” and has surveyed the village to examine the causes of poverty.