Families hosting marriage ceremonies this week in the city are having a tough time arranging facilities for their guests as majority of the hotel rooms and cabs have been booked by the authorities for dignitaries attending Chief Minister-designate N. Chandrababu Naidu’s swearing-in ceremony on June 8.
Eleven Chief Ministers and scores of VIPs from across the country are expected to turn up for the programme. As part of the preparations, Krishna district authorities have booked over 200 rooms in different hotels across the city in addition to keeping government guest houses on standby. However, this has turned out to be a huge hindrance for those performing weddings during the auspicious muhurthams on June 7, 8 and 9.
“I am a government official, but I had to plead with my higher-ups to secure the use of a guest house on June 7. Imagine my plight when I got permission for only half a day!” said a senior official.
It’s not just stay that will prove difficult for visitors to the city but also transportation as most cabs and on-hire vehicles have been booked to ferry the guests for the oath taking ceremony. It is learnt that the authorities in Vijayawada and neighbouring Guntur districts have instructed travel agency operators to keep ready 400 vehicles, mostly AC cars, to take guests from city hotels to the Acharya Nagarjuna University, where Mr. Naidu will take oath.
“Yes, there is heavy demand for cabs, especially Innovas, Indicas and Taveras. Given the instructions from the authorities, travel operators are also giving preference to government bookings over private marriage functions. The scenario is such that even those who had accepted bookings before are cancelling and refunding the amounts citing different reasons, said the owner of a travel agency.
