42 couples exchange marriage vows in Aligarh mass marriage

Aligarh (Uttar Pradesh) [India] June 22 (ANI): As many as 42 couples from the Hindu and Muslim community tied the knot at a mass marriage ceremony organised by the Uttar Pradesh Government in Aligarh on Thursday.
In the presence of visitors and families, the couples exchanged garlands and performed wedding rituals.
The occasion was conducted by religious gurus coming from various faiths, who had come to supervise and conduct all the marriages according to rituals espoused in different religions.
Out of the 42 couples, four were Muslim and the remaining 38 belonged to Hindu religion.
Spreading a message of diversity, all the couple's exchanged the vows under the same roof.
Uttar Pradesh cabinet Minister Suresh Rana graced the occasion and gave his blessings to the brides and grooms.
"The event has been organised with great pomp and show here under the Chief Minister's mass marriage scheme. I have met all the 42 couples and wish them a happy married life ahead," Rana said.
The newly-married couples were given many household items as gifts.
"I want to thank Yogi Sir for organising this mass marriage. The arrangements are very good here. I am happy to be married," said Priyanka, a Hindu bride.
"Yogi ji's government is doing really good work. I want to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi for working towards the betterment of common people," said Muslim groom, Salim.
This comes a week after a mass marriage ceremony was organised in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur where as many as 245 couples from the Hindu and Christian community tied the knot organised by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
Mass weddings are increasingly becoming popular, especially among the economically weaker sections of the Indian society, as they reduce the financial burden on the couple and their families. (ANI)