Night curfew disrupts wedding plans

THE COUPLES WHO HAD ALREADY BOOKED MARRIAGE HALLS TILL DECEMBER 15 ARE NOW RESCHEDULING THEIR WEDDINGS, MOST WEDDING PLANNERS ARE IN A TIZZY

LUDHIANA : The Punjab government’s decision to impose a curfew in the state from 10 pm to 5 am from December 1 has left couples and banquet hall owners in a fix.

The couples who had already booked marriage halls till December 15 are now rescheduling their weddings.

While marriage palace owners are ruing losses, wedding planners are in a tizzy over the new guidelines that came as a bolt from the blue.

With everything planned and invitations delivered, many couples are now rescheduling their wedding plans, venue, or timings, while others have postponed the dates. But the trouble does not end here as now the organisers will have to again apprise attendees of the changed timings and venues.

On November 25, the state government had decided to impose a night curfew and decided not to allow marriage palaces and hotels to remain open beyond 9.30 pm from December 1.

The new curbs will be reviewed on December 15.

A resident of Ludhiana’s Kitchlu Nagar, Gurmeet Singh said, “My daughter’s wedding was scheduled on December 13. After the government announced a night curfew, we started looking for other venues. As invitations were already given to the family members, we had to send the new invites through WhatsApp.”

‘Meanwhile, the hospitality sector is ruing losses stating that they were already witnessing only around 30% to 35% response and the imposition of night curfew has further taken a toll on their business.

President of the Marriage Palace Welfare Association Amarjit Singh Sant said, “The announcement made by the state government has further increased the trouble for the hospitality sector, which was already reeling under losses. We are adjusting the timings and dates of the events, but many customers are still forced to cancel or postpone the events due to the non-availability of venues and preferred timings.”

Earlier, hotel/banquet hall owners also urged that the government should allow marriage palaces and hotels to open beyond 9:30 pm, but to no avail. They, however, heaved a sigh of relief that the government has not reduced the gathering limit of 50% of the capacity with a ceiling of 200 persons.

A hotelier and general secretary of Punjab Tent Dealers Welfare Association, Shiv Shanker Rai said, “Hotels remained shut for six months during the lockdown and due to the gathering limit fixed by the government. Now, as the business was slowly coming back on track, the government has again come up with new curbs.

Hoteliers and tent dealers are in a quandary as organisers are now seeking a refund as events are being cancelled.”