Cheques, cards finance cashless mass marriage in Gujarat
AHMEDABAD: It was a mass wedding with a difference. Marriages of nine couples from Vankar Samaj (weaver community) were solemnised at Gujarat’s Bayad town on Sunday without a single penny spent in cash.
Even marriage rituals such as paying ‘dakshina’ to the priest and ‘kanyadaan’ were performed either through cheques or digital mode of payments.
Swipe machines were installed even for the guests wishing to gift money to the newlyweds.
The first-of-its-kind cashless mass marriage in the state was organised by Shri Veermaya Vankar Samaj Sudharak Samiti. An office bearer of the samiti said all transactions — be it payment for the mandap, caterer or the priest — were cashless to promote digital economy.
“To carry forward PM Narendra Modi’s call for digital economy, we want the couples, who started a new journey in their lives, should emulate this cashless-culture even in future,” said Hasmukh Saxena, convener of the samiti.
The priests who conducted the rituals were given a cheque of ₹7,777 as dakshina. The Union Bank of India set up a counter in this remote town to facilitate guests to swipe their debit or credit cards to present gifts to the couples. “The organisers presented money to the couples on behalf of those guests who did not carry cards in this rural area. Later, the guests repaid the money to the organisers,” Saxena added. The community wholeheartedly welcomed the initiative and even made minor changes to tradition. For instance, for the ritual of giving cash gift to the bride by the in-laws at the time of the wedding, cheque was used. “Instead of cash, we gave our daughter-in-law a cheque for ₹700’’, said Jivabhai Chauhan, a relative of a groom.