Some smiles in gloomy days as riot affected couple marry

, Sept 18: Amid all the grim tales in communal violence-hit areas in

, there were some moments of happiness and rejoicing for the people displaced by the

.

Mustafabad village in nearby Shamli district, home to a relief camp, turned into a marriage venue yesterday when 21-year-old Alem married his 19-year-old fiancee Shabana, both displaced by the riots. The marriage was fixed by the families of the couple around 15 days before the riots broke out.

But then came the nightmare and the families had to flee their respective villages to save their lives. Alem's family had to leave their house in Nala village and take shelter at a refugee camp in Kandhla village, while Shabana's family left their Kurthal village house in Baghpat and shifted to a refugee camp in Mustafabad village.

The situation in which the families left behind their native places, the marriage would probably have been the last thing on their minds. But little did they know that fate had something else in store for them. The families soon found out about each other and Alem's family met Shabana's family at the Mustafabad village and irrespective of the circumstances, decided to go forward with the marriage four days ahead of the due date.

Once the decision was taken, the whole community in the village soon became a family and got together to organise the marriage. Aas Mohammed of the village offered his house for the ceremony, which was solemnised by maulvi Mehtab. The clothes for the marriage were arranged by community.

After the marriage, the groom took his bride to his sister's house in a nearby village.

47 people have died, while over 40,000 have been displaced in Muzaffarnagar district and surrounding areas after the outbreak of violence on September 7.

PTI