KARWAR: Here is a unique ‘Shadi Bhagya’ scheme being offered by a village cooperative society in Yellapur, Uttara Kannada district.

Any girl who marries a farmer from Anagodu village gets Rs 1 lakh deposited in her account. This offer is limited to villagers of Anagodu and the members of Anagodu Seva Sahakari Sangha (a cooperative society).

The scheme will start from April 1, 2019.

N K Bhat, president of the society, said they had come up with this idea to help farmers’ families socially and economically and also help young farmers who are finding it difficult to get life partners.

Why this knotty problem? In Uttara Kannada, girls prefer to marry those working in Bengaluru in the IT sector or having a government job. So, many families are reluctant to give their daughters in marriage to farmers.

This novel scheme comes with some conditions.

“One of the conditions is that at least one family member should be a member of the cooperative society and have a transaction of `3 lakh with the society annually. In Anagodu there are about 300 households and most are members of the society,”Bhat said. He said besides Anagodu villagers, farmer families who are attached to the society can also get benefits of the new scheme.

The offer applies to all members irrespective of caste.The villagers are mainly dependent on agriculture. They sell their harvest through society and purchase iron, cement, grocery, food for livestock etc from
the society.

“The society has 2,000 plus members from 22 villages in Yellapur taluk. The members and the administrative board have come up with this scheme to also boost business of the society. The scheme will start from April 1, 2019,” said a member of the society.

“Many times we fail to get brides for our sons though they earn well. Most parents don’t want their daughters to marry someone with agricultural background. This is another reason many youngsters are giving up farming. Offers like this may help young farmers get brides,” said a member of the Havyak community.