Big wedding day triggers biz boom

NEW DELHI: If marriages are made in heaven, god has his job cut out this Friday. Over 15,000 couples will tie the knot on the auspicious day of Akshay Tritya. There is a rush for marriage halls and caterers. Designers and priests are in huge demand. Industry insiders say banquets, farmhouses and hotels were booked at least six months in advance. Those who failed to book a venue at least three months back are now on tenterhooks. “We get close to 20-30 requests daily, but it’s all booked. People are ready to pay extra, but we have no space and have to refuse,’’ said Sanjay Grover, owner of Golden Green farmhouse . Wedding industry experts say there has been a surge in weddings onAkshya Tritya over the last few years. This has translated into big business forthem. “People did get married on Akshya Tritya earlier . But now, itseems, everybody in the city wants to get married on this day. People are readyto pay almost double for services,’’ said a farmhouse owner.Ajay Malhotra, senior general manager, Parkland Exotica in Mehraulisaid, “It is expensive to organize weddings at this time because labourand material are at premium. This is not the season for flowers and to keep themfresh till the wedding is a challenge. Decoration is mainly done with flowersand this increases the cost.” He said though they don’t charge more,it’s just that they don’t give discounts . Apart from privatebanquets and farmhouses, municipality community centres too are booked to theircapacity . It’s believed that one can get married on AkshyaTritya without fixing a muhurat (auspicious time). “It is also the lastauspicious day of the season. There are no sayas (auspicious dates) tillNovember 6. For those who don’t want to wait till November, this is thebest day,’’ said Mahant Kailash Sharma of Hanuman Mandir, ConnaughtPlace. From caterers to mehndiwalas , everybody has their handsfull. Santosh, a mehndi artist from Lajpat Nagar Central Market, is a very busyman. He is booked till the end of this week and hopes to make close to Rs20,000-Rs 25,000, thanks to the wedding spree. Traffic police havealso made special arrangements to ensure smooth traffic flow on Friday. Butexpect bumper-tobumper jams on this day. “We will deploy extra staff nearfarmhouses, community centres , and hotels. We will take stern action againstthose establishments which violate rules or host functions without permission.We will also record violations on the camera ,’’ said SatyendraGarg, joint CP, Delhi Traffic Police. It’s a D-day for atleast 15,000 couples. The bride may have got the groom of her choice, but notthe beautician, designer, caterer and music band her family hadwanted.