Construction major Sobha group has sponsored 291 marriages!

PALAKKAD - Renowned construction major Sobha Group sponsored 41 community marriages during the weekend as part of its corporate social responsibility programme, taking the number of such weddings organised by it in Kerala’s Alathur sub-district to 291 since 2003.

“P.N.C. Menon, the chairman of the international construction company, has adopted the Vadakkanchery and Kizhakkanchery gram panchayats in Alathur sub-district for implementing programmes meant for the uplift of villagers,” said V.A. Gangadharan, head of Sobha Group’s social empowerment department.

He said 19 marriages were solemnised Saturday and 21 on Sunday in the Kurumba Auditorium in Moolamcode in Kizhakkancherry under the auspices of the Sree Kurumba Trust.

The business baron is guided by the principle of giving back to the local community some part of what his enterprise has earned over the years, he said.

Menon, 62, who was born and grew up in Moolamcode, has his business empire in the Middle East, besides India. He is an Omani citizen too.

“We have done an exclusive survey in the two villages and out of the 15,000 families surveyed, 2,500 have been identified as economically backward. Any girl from the 2,500 families is eligible for the Kurumba Trust’s marriage sponsorship,” Gangadharan added.

Leading politicians and prominent citizens from the region attended the functions Saturday and Sunday.

“The groom is selected by the girl’s parents and is cleared by a committee consisting of Sobha group officials and the local panchayat president. All the basic requirements to start a family life are provided to the new couples apart from a gold ring and a gold chain with mangal sutra, all together weighing 32 grams.

“Since this is a community marriage, there are no religious functions and as soon as the event is over, the marriage is registered. Those wanting a religious function are free to do so after the function is over,” said Gangadharan.

The Kurumba Trust also runs a state-of-the-art school modelled on the lines of an upmarket public school for children, for whom everything is provided free of cost.

The trust also conducts special coaching classes besides providing scholarships for deserving students from the two villages for higher studies.