A CORRESPONDENT
LAKHIMPUR: A mass wedding ceremony was solemnized in North Lakhimpur by the Vivah Sanskar Samity, Lakhimpur in association with The Hans Foundation, New Delhi.
The extravaganza was held at Tyag Kshetra of North Lakhimpur town in an adorably decorated pandal wherein a total of 1,004 couples tied the knot following the religious rituals and their traditions of Hinduism. The mass wedding ceremony was organized to bring the under privileged couples to the social fold. These couples started their conjugal life under various circumstances but their status had not been socialized or formalized as per the religious customs. Such couples that marry of their own, if remain so till their death, the villagers or neighbours refuse to carry even the dead for cremation. Therefore, the event was organized in a bid to bring those couples into the religious fold.
The mass wedding ceremony was attended as chief guests by Mata Mangla Ji and Bhole Ji Maharaj—two eminent spiritual heads from Uttarakhand, who are the founders of Hand Foundation. Various xatradhikars, Dharmagurus like Bhaba Dev Goswami of Batta Gaya Satra, Dhenudharia, Bishnu Dev Goswami of Gharmora Saru Satra were also present in the programme along with Sumit Sattawan, the Deputy Commissioner of Lakhimpur, SP Bedanta Madhab Rajkhowa, Dr. Dilip Kr. Jha, the patron of Lakhimpur Zila Vivah Sanskar Samiti.
The event began with 'Gow Mata Pujan'. It was followed by an audio-visual documentary show on The Hans Foundation. The chief guests and xatradhikars inaugurated the event by lighting the ceremonial lamps. In his welcome address, Dr Suresh Dutta, the president of the Vivah Sanskar Samiti, appealed to Mata Mangalaji and Bholeji Maharaj to extend the services of The Hans Foundation in the Lakhimpur district, especially covering health care facilities for the welfare of the villagers of remote areas, foothills and border areas, Adivasi people residing in and around tea gardens and also for the tribal people residing in the river banks, to provide Mobile Medical Units (Vans) with mammography facility as the Foundation has done in Uttarakhand as cancer cases are distinctly visible here. He also sought the involvement of The Hans Foundation in the rural sector, especially for livelihood support of underprivileged people.
Bhole Ji Maharaj and Mata Mangala Ji in their speeches assured that The Hans Foundation would pay positive response to the appeals of Dr Suresh Dutta who is also a prominent economist and columnist. After conduct of the wedding amid blessings, cheers and jubilation, marriage certificates and gifts were distributed among the couples by Bhole Ji Maharaj and Mata Mangala Ji.
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