In a bid to reduce wedding expenses, a khap panchayat of 12 villages here has imposed a ban on lunch or dinner during the marriage of girls. The panchayat has also decided to take stern action against those found taking food during girls' marriage.
The khap panchayat took the decision at a meeting at Kadma village, about 60 km from here on Jhhoju-Dadri road, on Wednesday evening.
The panchayat, presided over by former sarpanch Randhir Singh, also prohibited 'Kaaj' ceremony in the villages stating that it was not reasonable to serve sweets and other eatables following the death of elderly persons. 'Kaaj' is a ritual which is performed by most people in Haryana following the natural death of an elderly family member.
The panchayat, held at Government school in the village, said "it will be great help to girls' family if villagers, except the relatives of the girls, do not take food in the wedding party.
This restriction will not only reduce the wedding expenses but also check crowd-like-situation at the weddings." As per the panchayat's decision, villagers will be able to attend the marriage and help the girl's family in the wedding, but would not have food.
"Another reason to ban the villagers from having food is to maintain a system in the wedding bash. There are several examples in the past when all food items in girl's wedding were finished by the villagers before the arrival of the baarat. In this situation, girl's kin had to make arrangements for the wedding party at the eleventh hour," said a villager.
With the ban on having wedding food, girls' family will not have to bother about the food issue and they would be able to concentrate on other tasks of the weddings, he maintained.
Confirming the ban, Balwan Singh, Sarpanch of Kadma village, said the decision had been taken unanimously at the meeting and people of all 12 villages had given their consent to the decision when they were asked to express their views in this regard.
Similarly, villagers have also been asked not to organise 'kaaj' ceremony after death of their elderly people to restrict them from celebrating the death, he added.