Eligible bachelors take out march in Solapur district to seek brides

Flagging the issue of skewed male-female ratio, eligible bachelors took out a march seeking brides for themselves in Maharashtra's Solapur district on Wednesday.

The 'bridegroom morcha' was organized by an outfit, which later submitted a memorandum to the district collector's office seeking strict implementation of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act (PCPNDT Act) to improve the male-female ratio in Maharashtra.

The memorandum also asked the state government to arrange brides for eligible bachelors, who participated in the march.

Several eligible bachelors, clad in wedding costumes, riding horses and accompanied by band-baja reached the collector's office and demanded brides for themselves.

''People may mock this morcha, but the grim reality is that youths of marriageable age are not getting brides just because the male-female ratio is skewed in the state,'' said Ramesh Baraskar, the founder of the Jyoti Kranti Parishad, which organized the event.

He claimed Maharashtra's sex ratio was 889 girls per 1,000 boys.

''This inequality exists because of female foeticide and the government is responsible for this disparity,'' said Baraskar.