RAWALPINDI: As many as 97 couples from Rawalpindi tied the knot at a mass marriage ceremony held here on Monday under the Punjab Dhee Rani Programme Phase 2.

The ceremony was attended by Punjab ministers Sohail Shaukat Butt and Bilal Akbar Khan as the chief guests. The families benefiting from the Dhee Rani programme are from Rawalpindi, Attock, Jhelum, Chakwal and Murree.

On behalf of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, Rs100,000 were presented to each couple.

The CM Punjab is providing Rs120,000 to each couple through the bank for the purchase of furniture. More than 2,000 people attended the ceremony.

Speaking on the occasion, Punjab Minister for Social Welfare and Baitul Mall Sohail Shaukat Butt said that the Dhee Rani Programme Phase 2 was asocial welfare programme being implemented across Punjab.

`The Dhee Rani programme is proving to be helpful in eliminating social inequalities. For the first time in the history, such a big programme of mass marriages has been started, the minister claimed.

The provincial minister said thousands of familiesincluding Muslim and other religions are benefiting from the Dhee Rani programme in Punjab.

Punjab Minister for Transport Bilal Akbar Khan said Punjab the Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has launched a record number of public welfare projects in one year. He said that the Punjab government was working day and night for the welfare of the common man. Be it the mass marriage programme, the scholarships or the laptop scheme, the performance is in front of everyone, he said.

He said that the provincial government was provid-ing relief to the people. He said that revolutionary steps have been taken in the health sector. Free supply of medicines is being ensured at the doorstep. Minority card, tractor scheme, easy business finance scheme have been launched. 8,000 kilometers of roads have been constructed and repaired in one year.

Local leaders of PML-N said that the provincial government was working hard to provide maximum facilities to the people. They said that the PML-N government had reduced the prices of electricity .

The ceremony was attended by MNAs Osama Ashfaq Sarwar, Tahira Aurangzeb, MPAs Asma Naz Abbasi, Malik Iftikhar Ahmed, Raja Mohammad Hanif Advocate, Umer Farooq, Tehseen Fawad, Shazia Rizwan and others.

Deputy Commissioner Rawalpindi Hassan Waqar Cheema and Deputy Commissioner Attock Rao Atif and senior officials of district administration were present on the occasion.