This monsoon, Bundelkhand gets knotty

The reason— This year, the region has received good showers, which the villagers feel will be good for the crops. And so, the marriages, which have been deferred over the years because of drought and poverty, are now finally being solemnised.

“The monsoon has not only raised our hopes for good crops, but also washed away our problems. After waiting for three years, I can now finally get my daughter married,” says Ramsaran, one of the several villagers who have applied for the grant for marriage in Mahoba district.

During the last one month, the district social welfare offices have seen a sudden jump in the applications for the marriage grant. Some of the applicants have even cited a good monsoon season as the reason for applying for the grant.

“Though the grant was increased from Rs 10,000 to 20,000 on June 2, we never expected so many applications Monsoon has never been a favourable time for weddings. But in the last fortnight, we have received 12 applications,” said P K Srivastava, the district social welfare officer at Jhansi. Most of these applications are for weddings to solomnised between July 6 and 18.

R Mishra, the district social welfare officer in Lalitpur, has received 18 grant applications in the last two weeks.

“We are receiving applications every day. The applicants are even requesting us to complete all verification procedures at the earliest, and they should be given the money before the end of the month.”