Srinagar, July 13: Where the weather vagaries this year consumed much of the marriage season in the Valley, the turbulent situations prevailing over past about a month now, took away the remaining sheen; the people associated with wedding industry incurred huge losses.
 Amid the shutdowns, curfews and stringent security restrictions over past three weeks, hundreds of marriage functions were cancelled, with people preferring to ceremonies weddings without much pomp and show.
 “Already many of the bookings we had earlier made were cancelled by our parties due to untimely rains. But then when there was improvement in the weather, the condition in the Valley took an ugly turn forcing the people to cancel marriage functions,” said Nasrullah Khan, proprietor Arabian Star, a camping agency here at Nigeen area.
 He said: “We suffer a loss of at least Rs 50,000 on cancellation of a single function. Now in this situation we have lost six of our bookings, so you can yourself calculate our loss.” “Although we have not estimated as yet our actual losses, since the wedding season is still on and bookings are continuously being cancelled, we fear our losses could run in several lakhs of rupees,” said Gowhar Amin, proprietor, Modern Camping Agency, Fateh Kadal.
 He said many of their bookings were already cancelled due to back-to-back shutdowns and curfews, as most of the people solemnized the marriages with austerity, while cancelling their wedding invitations.  “You can see the local newspapers. They are everyday flooded with messages of invitation cancellations,” he said.
 The camping agents were apprehensive about the forthcoming marriage functions as well. “Many people are presently keeping their fingers crossed as to how the situation will be in the coming days and accordingly they shall decide whether to go for functions or not,” said Khan. “And till shutdowns or curfew continues, there is no chance for us to make some business,” added Gowhar.
 Market observers here said hundreds of people in the Valley were involved in the service of camping agencies, which apart from installing camps let out copper utensils, crockery items, bedding, bamboo structure for chefs and other items required on marriages.
 Apart from camping agents, those who arrange interior decorations, illuminations and flowers on marriage ceremonies also complained about huge losses. “There is simply no business for us. This year the entire wedding season has been badly hit,” said Muhammad Altaf, a decorator.
 Likewise, chefs too have felt the pinch. “I had 25 bookings for June alone, however barring a few, all were cancelled,” said Muhammad Subhan Waza, a chef at Sheher-e-Khaas. “This is the time when we remained most busy. But this year we are literally sitting idle,” he added. “We could serve only on a few marriages in the peak season, for most of the people served their guests with Kehwa (traditional tea) and some ordered just a few dishes from us,” said Ghulam Muhammad Waza, another chef. He said those who performed their marriages during shutdown curtailed the mutton quantity, for only a few dishes had to be served
 Pertinently, two years back, the marriage industry in the Valley had suffered badly in the backdrop of Amarnath land row and enforced economic blockade on the Valley.

Lastupdate on : Tue, 13 Jul 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 13 Jul 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 14 Jul 2010 00:00:00 IST