3,003 couples tie knot at mass marriage event in Ghaziabad

More than 3,000 pairs from Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Buddhist communities tied the knots as per their religious rites at a community marriage ceremony in Kamla Nehru Nagar ground in Ghaziabad on Thursday, a senior government official said.

Couples were from Ghaziabad, Hapur and Bulandshahr districts, Ghaziabad District Magistrate R K Singh told PTI.

The financial help was also provided to the children of daily wagers registered with the district labour department which organised the mass marriage event, he said.

Rs 10,000 were paid in advance to each pair to purchase the wedding dress while Rs 65,000 would be transferred to the bank account of the bride's father by the labour department, the DM said.

In total Rs 22.50 crores have been spent by the labour department on the event, the senior officer said.

Local parliamentarian V K Singh and Anil Rajbhar, Minister of labour and employment in the Uttar Pradesh government, who were present in the ceremony, blessed the newlywed couples, the officer added.