AHMEDABAD/ VADODARA/SURAT/ RAJKOT: Within hours of the Supreme Court demanding an action-taken report from four states including Gujarat on the Covid-19 situation amid a fresh surge in cases, the state government revised its guidelines for weddings and social gatherings.
According to the new guidelines, only 100 guests will be allowed at weddings, effective Tuesday midnight. The government halved the permitted number of guests from the earlier 200.
The decision has left brides, grooms and their families grappling with added uncertainties for their special days.
Trusha Patel (name changed), a resident of Ahmedabad, is to be married on December
8. Hardik Patel, her brother, said, “All the ceremonies have been planned for the night and the groom’s family is scheduled to arrive in the evening from Mehsana. However, with curfew imposed, we will have to reschedule the entire event so that the couple can leave for Mehsana before 9pm, due to the curfew. We will have to shift the event entirely. We’re in the process of figuring it out and trying to shorten it as much as possible.”
Similarly, Rajkot resident Siddharth Vekariya’s wedding is scheduled for December 2 and other ceremonies for December 1, both in the evening. As soon as the night curfew was imposed in Rajkot, for an indefinite period, all his planning went haywire. Jaydeep, his brother, said, “We’ve asked the hotel to shift the event to the morning. We are waiting for a reply from them. Let’s see how things pan out. With the fresh guidelines, we aren’t sure how to curtail the guest list.”
The second wave of Covid-19 infections has proven to be the last nail in the coffin for the weddings industry.
Narendra Somani, president, Hotels and Restaurants’ Association (HRA), Gujarat, said, “Some 14 events have been cancelled at our hotel alone. Out of sheer confusion and uncertainty, people are limiting affairs to the home or cancelling them outright. The second wave of infections during peak wedding season will dampen the sentiment of people and will prove detrimental to the industry which had barely seen any sign of revival.”
This year, the number of muhurats is low and thus many events are being held in a single day. Kunal Desai, a priest said, “The most wedding muhurats are during November 30-December 2 and December 7-10. Most weddings are planned for these days and the venues will be packed.”
Sonika Chaturvedi, general manager, Courtyard by Marriott, said, “We have received requests for rescheduling events and cancellations as well. The spike in Covid-19 cases and curfew has shaken the confidence of guests and it is bound to affect business.”
“We used to host at least 15 weddings in a month in the peak wedding season of November-December. Now, business has fallen to 5% of earlier levels,” said Pratik Patel, who owns a party plot in Piplod, Surat.
With inputs from Nimesh Khakhariya in Rajkot, Melvyn Thomas in Surat and Tushar Tere in Vadodara