A young commercial painter from Dhulian town of Murshidabad district had an urgent errand to run on his wedding day.

Kajal Sheikh, 21, a Class VIII dropout, deferred the time of his wedding on Saturday by about two hours, and travelled 6km in his wedding regalia to a blood donation camp that was being held in view of the crisis in blood supply during the festive season.

On Saturday morning, Kajal arrived at Kankuria village of Samsherganj to exchange wedding vows with his bride Rinki Khatun. But after taking a cup of tea and biscuits, he rushed back to Samsherganj Daakbunglow, where the camp was being held, asking the bride’s family and his relatives to wait.

A relative of the groom said Kajal had seen the blood donation camp on his way to the bride’s home and wanted to donate blood then and there. “We told him about the delay and its impact on the bride’s family.… So, after reaching the bride’s home in Kankuria, Kajal convinced them he would rush to the camp, donate blood and be back for the wedding,” said the relative.

After donating blood, Kajal, who had gone to the camp along with two of his friends, returned to the bride’s home and completed the wedding rituals.

Several villagers said that though the marriage was delayed by two hours, the groom’s gesture won hearts.

“This is a never-seen gesture by a groom.... He drove back around 6km to donate blood after convincing all of us. Kajal taught us the importance of blood donation.… His act became a matter of pride for us,” Kajal’s father-in-law Sefaul Haque beamed.

Kajal said a news item on the scarcity of blood during the festive period moved him and he was looking for an opportunity to donate blood. “So when I saw the camp on my way, I decided to make it happen today itself,” he said.

A youth in wedding attire at the camp surprised its organisers, Life Savers. Omar Farooq, president of the outfit, said: “His gesture will encourage many people to come up to donate blood.”