DHOLPUR (RAJASTHAN): After a long wait of 22 years, a baraat or wedding procession left a village in Rajasthan last week. Pawan, the groom, could not afford a horse for the wedding procession but his face was lit up as if etching history. Villagers' joy knew no bounds as they welcomed a new bride after 1996.
SThe village, however, paints a grim picture. There is no power, road connectivity or water in Rajghat village in Dholpur. This, despite a district headquarters close by. All the marriage proposals from the men of this village are turned down, and they were forced to live as bachelors.
"As there are no basic facilities here, no marriages take place here. Villagers are seeing a marriage after 22 years," said the groom's relatives.
Reeling under extreme poverty, the village of 300 people has 40 kaccha houses. In the name of development, there is only one primary school and a handpump with saline water.
Of the 125 women who live in this village, only two could write their name correctly. These women have not seen a TV or fridge in their lives.