In view of the possible third wave of Covid-19, the locals are still reluctant to book wedding venues in advance in Dehradun. The wedding season starts from the next month but unlike in the past years, people are not taking the risk of inviting guests and booking the venues in advance.

“My wedding is in the first week of November but I still have not booked any venue for my wedding ceremonies due to the probable third wave. Booking the venues is quite expensive and I cannot risk spending my savings on something which might get canceled at the time of my wedding. No businessman refunds the full amount of the money deposited for booking,” said 28-year old Mayank Rawat.

A Dharmpur resident Priyanka Semwal stated that people have learned to conduct wedding ceremonies in smaller and closed spaces with limited people which is the need of the hour too.  “Due to the sudden surge in Covid cases in April, only 12 people attended my brother’s wedding.

We had booked venues with advance payments of about Rs one lakh but we were not refunded even half of the amount after cancellation. Due to this experience, we have not booked any wedding point for my wedding next month and have decided to conduct all the ceremonies at our home with a limited number of guests,” stated Semwal.

Such disinclination is taking a toll on the wedding business in the district. According to the member of Dehradun Mandap Keeper Association and owner of Mittal Wedding Point, Alok Mittal, the wedding business has gone down with time in the past two years. “Considering the possibility of the third Covid wave, many are hesitant to book the venues beforehand. The numbers of bookings are 25 per cent less than the last year when the business was already down. Even those who are booking the venues are keeping the numbers of guests restricted to between 150 and 200 on their own despite the state government’s permission that guests can be invited upto 50 per cent occupancy of the venue,” informed Mittal.