Wedding industry in Haryana struggles to stay afloat

Tribune News Service

Nitish Sharma

Ambala, January 23

People involved in the wedding industry — banquet, catering and marriage palace owners — are finding it hard to keep their business afloat due to the restrictions imposed due to the Covid pandemic.

Reeling under losses, the banquet and marriage palace operators have been demanding that the number of guests should be allowed according to the capacity of venues. The owners claim that due to the restrictions on the gatherings, a large number of bookings got cancelled and and the situation was getting further challenging for the big venues.

Allow more guests

The government should allow the number of guests up to 50 per cent of the capacity of the venue or it can fix the ceiling of 300 guests for big venues. Not only banquet owners, the allied businesses are also facing heavy losses. Sudarshan Singh Sehgal, president, Haryana marriage palace and banquet assn

There are nearly 125 banquet halls, marriage palaces and hotels offering wedding space in Ambala Cantonment and the city.

Ajay Baweja, a caterer and banquet operator, said, “The wedding season started from January 15 and at least four wedding bookings got cancelled at our venue due to the restrictions of timings and gathering. Now there are some dates in February, the government should give some relaxation to the industry and allow the gathering according to the capacity of the venues. The banquets and palaces have a fixed expenditure and maintenance cost. We also have permanent staff, and with current restrictions of 100 guests, it is going to be very tough, especially for those who have big venues.”

Pawan Aggarwal, a hotelier and banquet operator, said “Covid has hit the wedding industry very hard and the business is going through a tough phase. We had recently launched a new venue for large gatherings and the first booking that we had received also got cancelled. If the restrictions are not relaxed, the bookings of February may also witness the same fate.

Sudarshan Singh Sehgal, president, Haryana Marriage Palace and Banquet Association, said, “The government should allow the number of guests up to 50 per cent of the capacity of the venue, or it can fix the ceiling of 300 guests for big venues. Not only banquet owners, the allied businesses are also facing heavy losses. The dates of January are over, and now there are some dates in February. The banquets have heavy loans from banks and they have to repay the loan even if there was no business. The government should come forward to help the wedding industry, which has already faced big losses in the last two years. It should at least waive taxes and provide some relief in power charges.”

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