Over 75 weddings were postponed in a day in Kota Rural district after police reached out to families as part of a campaign to comply with the lockdown which has been enforced in the state to contain rising COVID cases. During a field visit of DIG Ravidutt Gaur, two beat constables of Kota Rural Police, Asharam of Digod police station and Navneet of Kaithun police station, informed him that they had persuaded three families to call off weddings scheduled for this month, DSP and CO (Itawa) Vijayshankar Sharma told PTI.

The beat constables were given a reward of Rs 1,100 each, he said. The DIG then directed officials to conduct meetings at gram panchyat level in presence of influential locals and public representatives to persuade families to cancel upcoming weddings, Sharma said.

Under the supervision of Kota Rural SP Sharad Choudhary, the campaign was launched at gram panchyat level on Saturday morning with beat constables and SHOs interacting with families, resulting in postponement of more than 75 weddings in a single day, the DSP said. "My sister Manisha was supposed to get married on Friday but a beat constable came early morning and convinced us to call off the wedding. It has now been postponed to after the coronavirus pandemic," said Rinkesh Kumar. Another local, Ramdayal Khati, said he decided to postpone his daughter's wedding scheduled on May 24 after being convinced by a beat constable and the sarpanch. According to a Rajasthan Cabinet decision on Thursday, a strict lockdown was imposed in the state from May 10 to 24. Under it, weddings would be permitted only in courts or at home in the presence of maximum of 11 people..

Over 75 Weddings Called off in a Day After Campaign by Kota Police