Suhail Bhat
Srinagar, Nov 13: A modest mass wedding in Srinagar today saw the union of up to 55 disadvantaged couples from various areas of Kashmir.
The Jaffri Council, a social organization, organized the ceremony at the Amar Singh Club in Srinagar in cooperation with the Gujarat-based NGO JU Kulsum Taleem Kendra.
The group has organized 495 weddings for disadvantaged and orphaned girls since it started organizing similar events in the Valley in 2015.
“In conjunction with the JU Kulsum Taleem Kendra, we organized this large wedding for these poor and orphan girls. Since we began our campaign in 2015, this marriage has been one of the largest, with 55 couples exchanging vows today. We would like to continue in the future,” president of the Council, Ghulam Rasool Chakan said, adding that those who spend Rs 30-50 lakhs on weddings should volunteer in their community and assist underprivileged girls.
The Council said to have assisted 38 couples from economically disadvantaged sectors in getting married in 2015. In 2016, 70 couples got married, while 75 did so in 2017. In 2018, there were 105 of these unions, while in 2019, there were 83. Due to COVID-19, the council was unable to host the event in 2020. However, they claimed that in 2021 and 2022, respectively, they had organized 55 weddings.
He said that the couples register with the council and they give their details which are later verified by their team and deserving are being helped.
Numerous people attended the ceremony, including Gulam Nabi Azad, the head of the newly established Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Azad party, who praised the organizers’ efforts and urged more people to embrace this cause.
“I genuinely appreciate the organizers for organizing nearly 500 marriages for girls from disadvantaged backgrounds. The organization arranges 50 or so marriages for orphaned and impoverished girls each year. I would like to urge the people in the Valley, especially those wealthy businessmen to come forward for such causes. The impact would be enormous if 100 people could arrange 100 weddings each year. To arrange the marriages of about 50 girls, it would cost 20-25 lakhs,” he said.
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