Panchayat declares 'public holiday' for India vs Australia at Suresh Raina's fiancee's village
Suresh Raina’s fiance Priyanka Chaudhary hails from the village of Bamonoli in Baghpat district, Uttar Pradesh, where the population is just 12,000 people. However, all of the residents of this village will have a day off work on Thursday, 26th March as they’ve been ordered not to work and watch the match in which the ‘village’s son-in-law’ will be playing.
India go up against hosts Australia in the World Cup semi-final at the Sydney Cricket Ground and although a lot of people are expected to skip work, Bamonoli’ s gram panchayat has taken the term ‘cricket crazy’ to the next level. The local body has set up a large screen for the residents to watch the match and ordered that nobody will be going to work and no farming will be done on the day.
Priyanka’s grandparents still live in the village while her father, Tej Pal Singh, has an ancestral home there. She is currently employed with a bank in the Netherlands and her father, despite living in Meerut, visits the village often. The village members are certainly not complaining and Raina’s connection to the village has spiked interest of even the non-cricket followers.
“We want to see the village’s son-in-law in action”
Hemant Singh, a resident of Bamonoli said, “There is a sudden surge of interest in cricket in Bamonoli. Even those who never heard about this game are keen to follow the sport now. Youngsters who are highly enthusiastic about the whole event are making it a point to bring people even from the remotest corners of the village to see the would-be son-in-law of the village in action.”
A member of the village panchayat, Prahlad Singh, confirmed the news by revealing the arrangements they have made for this crunch tie.
He said, “It is a matter of great honour for the village that its daughter is getting married to a cricket star of India. And to make this event memorable we have installed a screen and arranged for more than 2,000 people to sit in front of it and watch the match. The rest can sit on the ground and enjoy the game. It will be a public holiday for villagers and all have been asked to watch the match. Let everyone see our son-in-law in action.”
It is expected that the swashbuckling left-hander will arrive in Bamonoli soon after the World Cup, on April 3rd, to marry Priyanka. However, the residents have already begun the celebrations.