UP revises lockdown guidelines, only 25 people allowed at weddings, events

In a letter to district officials, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Avanish Awasthi said permission will be given for participation of maximum 25 invitees at a time for wedding and other functions, both in open and enclosed places. 

Earlier, a maximum of 50 people or 50 per cent of the capacity of the marriage hall, were permitted. A maximum of 100 persons were allowed in open spaces. 

Awasthi said that invitees will have to comply with Covid-appropriate protocols, with the use of masks and sanitizers. 

Social distancing will have to be strictly followed while making seating arrangements, besides making proper arrangements for sanitation and cleanliness of toilets at the venue where the function is being organised, the order stated. 

The responsibility of complying with these conditions will be that of organizers, the order said. 

Meanwhile, more than 2,700 weddings have been postponed or cancelled in the state capital alone during the ongoing Corona curfew. 

According to a wedding hall owner, bookings have been cancelled in huge numbers, giving a major setback to those in the business. 

"People are cancelling marriage events because compliance of Covid protocols in not possible in such functions. If the number of guests exceed 50, how can anyone tell the additional guests to leave the venue? The local police tend to misbehave if there  is any violation. Moreover, the curfew makes is tough for guests to commute," said a well-known businessman who has 'indefinitely postponed' his son's wedding, scheduled for May 29. 

The businessman said that he has not fixed a fresh date for the wedding yet. "There is talk of the third wave in September which would again make things difficult. We may opt for a destination wedding outside the country if that happens," he said.