Prospective bridegrooms of Badwan under naxal-infested Kaimur district are more than happy these days, courtesy a hand pump.
Till the other day, the non-availability of drinking water had meant no brides for them. But a simple hand pump has changed all that this summer.
The hand pump installed in the village ahead of "lagan", the traditional marriage season in summer across rural Bihar, under a rural development programme by the Nitish government, has brightened the marriage prospects of middle-aged unmarried men here.
They now cheerfully look forward to marriage negotiations from families of prospective brides.
Official sources in the district say that on several occasions in the last few years, marriage negotiations had failed to mature due to shortage of drinking water that discouraged girls' families from marrying off their daughters to men of this village.
"No girl's father was ready to give his daughter to a boy from this village due to the water problem", officials said.
(Tribune)
