Uttar Pradesh: Banquets booked in Prayagraj, couples struggle for wedding venues

PRAYAGRAJ: With only a few auspicious dates left for solemnising marriages in November and December this year and the majority of wedding halls, banquets and pandals already booked, couples and their families in the search for a wedding venue are in a fix in Sangam city.
The Covid-19 pandemic jeopardised the grand wedding plans of many couples in the months between March and June this year.Many couples had to postpone their wedding to November or December and made pre-bookings. However, city-based couples who got their marriages fixed during the recently concluded Navratri, are finding no pandals or marriage hall to tie the knot.
There are only seven auspicious dates for solemnising marriages this year. November 25, 30 and December 1, 7,8, 9, and 11 are the auspicious dates. The bookings for halls and banquets are highest on November 25, which is Devshayani Ekadashi. The rush is also because, after the lockdown, there were no auspicious wedding dates between July and October this year.
Old City resident, Anurag, whose daughter’s marriage was fixed during the recently concluded Navratri and the wedding to be solemnised on December 9, is running from pillar to post to book a marriage pandal. He claims to have made rounds of the majority of hotels, banquet halls and pandals but received the same reply of “no rooms or halls available”, from the authorities concerned.
“As soon as my daughter’s marriage date was fixed for December 9, I started looking for marriage pandal or marriage hall in the city without any delay. But I found the “no room” reply from all hotels and marriage pandal authorities,” said Anurag.
“My family members are all in a catch 22 situation and are looking for other options,” he added. He also said, “I have assured to follow all the norms set by the administration for solemnising the marriage, but have not found a positive reply for any of the pandal owners.”
Ajay Mathur is also worried about his son’s marriage owing to the non-availability of banquet or wedding hall. Ajay says, “There are only seven days left for solemnising marriage this year, and we haven’t found any room or halls in hotels and marriage venues in the city”.
“Whenever I visited a pandal or hotel, the authorities claimed that those clients who had postponed their marriage dates due to the pandemic, had booked the banquet halls and rooms much in advance,” said Anurag. He also added, “pandal authorities are asking us to change dates or plan for the wedding next year.” However, even 2021 doesn’t have too many auspicious dates owing to the bizarre planetary formulations, said many city-based astrologers.
“We have bookings of clients who had postponed their marriages to November and December, due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Yogesh Goel, owner of a hotel at civil lines. “We are suggesting clients seeking banquet halls or pandals to change the dates if they want to solemnise the marriages” he added. He also said, “we receive at least seven to 10 inquires every day for the availability of pandals or halls”.