NGOs help rain-hit couple tie the knot

Madikeri: Amidst the landslides and the deluge which washed away everything precious to them, a Kodagu family had reason to smile on Sunday when their daughter's wedding was hosted by different institutions as scheduled at Madikeri, despite the devastation all around. 

Their home was buried under soil due to the recent landslides at Hemmethal village near Makkandur  in Kodagu, one of the worst affected areas. 

Baby, wife of late Ravi, had to flee the house empty handed along with her daughter Manjula R and son Annappa R and ended up at a relief centre at Sevabharathi in Madikeri. 

On realising their plight,  Lion’s Club of Madikeri, Sevabharathi and several others came to the rescue of the family which had thought of cancelling the wedding and hosted it on Sunday. 

All smiles
Manjula the bride, in a red saree was all smiles as she tied the knot with Rajesh, son of  Kerala-based Lalitha M and late Rajan, at Sri Omkareswara temple at Madikeri at 10.30 am.

Later over 400 people who participated in the wedding reception at Gejje Sangappa Kalayana Mantapa, enjoyed a special lunch with a spread of holige, laddu, payasa, palya, pulav rice sambar, thilisaaru and others. The couple left for Kerala after the wedding. 

Mr K.K. Damodar, president of Lion's Club, Madikeri, who participated in the wedding, said “The family of Manjula had lost everything and were planning to cancel the wedding when we got to know about it. We arranged the saree, basic gold jewellery and all other items  needed for the wedding,” he said. 

Manjula's brother said, “On August 16,  we noticed the hills surrounding our village collapsing and ran out of the house in fear, without taking anything with us. Later all villagers trekked through the hills for 6 km in the rain and reached Makkandur from where we were taken to relief centres in vehicles. With nothing in hand, we thought of cancelling the wedding but people from different institutions including Lions Club and Seva Bharathi joined hands and came to our support.”  

Deputy Commissioner  P.I. Srividya and Superintendent of Police Dr Suman Pennekar too participated in the wedding.