Chandigarh, Oct 4 (PTI) The "Sarv Jatiya Khap Mahapanchayat" demanded an amendment in the Hindu Marriage Act on Tuesday to ban marriages within the same village as well as between people from the same "gotra".The "mahapanchayat" was held at Jind in Haryana under the chairmanship of the body"s national convenor, Tek Ram Kandela. A total of 150 khap (councils), various social organisations and others from different states of north India took part in it.Many important resolutions were passed at the event, Kandela said."We have demanded from the government that the Hindu Marriage Act should be amended to ban marriages within the same village and the adjacent village as well as within the same gotra," he said.A special "girdawari" (survey) should be carried out to assess the impact of crop damage due to the recent rains and those who suffered losses should be compensated at the earliest, Kandela said, referring to the other demands raised at the "mahapanchayat".Immediate arrangements should be made for drainage of water in areas wherich are still facing the problem of waterlogging, he added.To keep youngsters away from drugs, a resolution was passed that in every village, a committee would be formed under Kandela"s chairmanship, which would prepare a document regarding the menace and send it to the chief minister and the Centre.Kandela, who also heads the Kandela Khap, said the Khap Mahapanchayat will seek a meeting with the chief minister regarding these and various other issues. PTI SUN VSD RC