As fallout to the lockdown to tackle the COVID-19 crisis, people who had scheduled the wedding ceremonies, are now in a fix.
They are now postponing their functions, as the district administration has declared Section 144, as part of the lockdown.
“On hand it is a good thing, as it concerns our safety, but on the other hand it is now a Herculean task to undo everything,” said Srinivasa Rao, who had scheduled his daughter’s wedding in this month-end.
Many have paid advances for various arrangements, including booking of function halls, and now the management of the halls are refusing to return the advance.
In some cases, the management are agreeing for postponement, he said.
The marriage ‘muhurtams’ (auspicious timings) are there till March 31 and again from April 10 onwards.
“In this month itself, 40 wedding functions were cancelled, each ranging from 600 to 1,000 packs,” said Mr. Prashant, director of a star hotel.
According to Kameshwara Rao, owner of a function hall, it is good that the government has enforced a lockdown, as it was necessary. And we will be meeting shortly to take a decision on how to help people who have been forced to cancel or postpone their ceremonies.
Hotel occupancies drop
There were about 1,200 marriages in the next 10 days and almost all have been postponed, he said.
Meanwhile, the bustling hotel business in the city have hit an all time dry.
The occupancy rate in all star hotels have dropped to below 20%.
“We barely have 15 to 20 rooms occupied as on Monday at a time when the occupancy rate is normally over 90% during this part of the year,” said Mr. Prashant.
All hotels, including star hotels, have closed down their restaurants. According to the general manager of a hotel, “We have kept only one restaurant open for a room guest and also advising them to order food at their rooms, instead of coming to the restaurant. The restaurants are open for takeaways and limited to a few customers only.”
