Courtesy:TOI

Bangalore:Congress government in Karnataka has offered the perfect bonanza for Muslims.
Looking to woo minority voters aheadof 2014 Lok Sabha polls ,the state government has launched “Nikah Bhagya” which provides financial aid for marriage of girls and widows from the Muslim community.

“Poor parents in the community are facing several hurdles to get their daughters married due to their weak financial condition . So we decided to launch this scheme to ensure the girl child becomes no burden to the parent or guardian during marriage ,”said minorities welfare , Haj and wakf minister Qamrul Islam .

According to a government notification , the beneficiaries will get aid worth Rs 50,000 at the time of marriage .This includes Rs 15,000 in cash while rest will come in kind as utensils , bed, blanket and almirah ,among other things.This scheme will cover those families whose annual income is less than Rs 1.5 lakh .

The girl applicant for the scheme should complete 18 years on or after April 1, 2013 . “If a girl is born outside Karnataka , she is still eligible so long as she has resided here for three years ,” officials said .

Officials said the government will start accepting applications from beneficiaries under this scheme and disburse money from November 1.

The applicant can apply to the department of minorities welfare with all necessary documents . The government has made a financial provision of Rs 10 crore in the recent budget to benefit over 10,000 girls.

Muslims form around 12.23% of the states population and are a huge votebank Muslim voters constitute 13-14 per cent of Bangalores population Muslims have a stronger presence in northern Karnataka.