Kalyana Lakshmi Aided 16.78 Lakh Families With Rs 16,375 Crore: KT Rama Rao

HYDERABAD — The Kalyana Lakshmi and Shaadi Mubarak welfare initiatives have provided financial assistance totalling Rs 16,375 crore to 16.78 lakh underprivileged families across Telangana over the past 12 years, BRS working president KT Rama Rao said on Friday.

Speaking on the completion of 12 years of the flagship programmes launched by former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, Rama Rao detailed the background that prompted the conceptualisation of the welfare measure. He recalled that the former Chief Minister was deeply moved by the hardships faced by a tribal father, Banothu Keemanayak, who had lost the savings he had carefully gathered for his daughter’s wedding.

That specific incident prompted Chandrashekhar Rao to introduce state support for households across Telangana that struggled under the financial burden of solemnising marriages for their daughters. Rama Rao stated that the BRS chief acted as a father figure to lakhs of households across the state.

Under the welfare scheme, the government provided financial aid of Rs 1,00,116 to ease wedding expenditures for economically weaker households. Rama Rao termed the initiative an essential measure to secure dignity for girls and bring meaningful relief to their parents, pointing out that the financial cushion helped reduce parents' debts and actively contributed to curbing child marriages.

Rama Rao also levelled criticism at the current Congress administration, accusing Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy of weakening the welfare programme and making attempts to discontinue it altogether.

He further pointed to an unfulfilled electoral commitment made by the Congress party, highlighting that the ruling party had promised to distribute one tola of gold alongside the Kalyana Lakshmi financial assistance but had failed to implement it.