Owners of banquet halls in Delhi look to make up for lost time

As per unlock rules issued by the DDMA, weddings can be held in banquet halls with the number of guests capped at 50. However, if a wedding is being held in court or at home, the existing cap of 20 people remains in place.

Owners of banquet halls and those involved in allied wedding-related businesses heaved a sigh of relief after the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) came out with an order on Saturday allowing banquet halls to reopen from Monday, as part of its measures to unlock the Capital in a phased manner after a nearly two-month long lockdown that was put in place following the fourth wave of Covid-19 in the Capital.

In addition to banquet halls, allied stakeholders and industry players, including band companies, decorators, caterers, and jewellers, are hoping for the revival of business. (Shankar Mourya/HT file photo)

As per unlock rules issued by the DDMA, weddings can be held in banquet halls with the number of guests capped at 50. However, if a wedding is being held in court or at home, the existing cap of 20 people remains in place.

Ramesh Dang, president of Community Welfare Banquet Association Delhi, said he is glad that restrictions have been eased after nearly two months. “We welcome the move. This was long pending. We are reaching out to our staff. While some are in Delhi, some had returned back to their native places,” said Dang.

He said while some bookings had been placed months ago, bookings that were cancelled or postponed amid the fourth wave of Covid-19 are being rescheduled now. “By tomorrow (Monday), things will fall in place. We wrote to the chief minister and the Lieutenant Governor and are relieved that restrictions have been eased, although this comes a little late,” said Dang.

He said while other states, such as Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, had eased restrictions earlier, Delhi delayed lifting the curbs. “Since Delhi eased restrictions after neighbouring states, a lot of revenue has been directed outside the city. Nonetheless, something is better than nothing,” said Dang.

Shiv Kumar, owner of Carnival motel and Resort, located at GT Karnal Road, said he was hoping for business to bounce back. “Since the decision came only a day ago, it will take some time for the machinery to kick into action. Our staff is also scattered in different places. We will start calling them,” said Kumar.

He said that while the move was welcome, the wedding industry had been badly hit. “Only two-three dates are left for this month. There are some dates next month but many people have already booked facilities in Haryana and other states. We have faced a massive loss,” said Kumar.

In addition to banquet halls, allied stakeholders and industry players, including band companies, decorators, caterers, and jewellers, are hoping for the revival of business.

Virender Chawla, managing director of the Chawla Band, said while business had been hit, he was hopeful that it will recover. “Since last night (Saturday), we have started getting requests from people. People are enquiring and we are optimistic that things will get back on track. Delhi doesn’t take a lot of time to get back on its feet. In a month or two, things will become as before,” said Chawla. The band has asked all its employees to get vaccinated as a safety measure. “All our employees are getting vaccinated. We will follow all rules,” said Chawla.

He said that many people are hoping to get married in the coming weeks since there were concerns about a possible third wave. “Cases are low and people want to fulfil their commitments since things are slightly better now,” said Chawla.