COVID-19: Delhi Night curfew casts shadow on wedding season, here’s how to get your e-pass

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New Delhi: Till Monday many soon-to-be-wed couples were excitedly giving final touches to the day they would take their marriage vows but hit by the latest COVID-19 woe, the re-imposition of night curfew in the capital, they found themselves discussing arrangements from scratch yet again.

The Delhi government's decision on Tuesday (April 6) to impose night curfew from 10 pm to 5 am till April 30 to stem the spread of the virus has thrown the couples and the already bleeding wedding industry into a tizzy.

So now couples are mulling a "day marriage", wedding planners are making a beeline for venues in the neighbouring Noida and Gurgaon, and many hotels-banquets, reading the fine print of the order, are busy answering queries from frantic customers.

Paras Chugh and Abhishek, who were set to tie the knot on April 28, are now contemplating a "day wedding" instead of a night gala.

"It is a total mess. There is a new restriction every week. We are discussing with our wedding planner what to do next. We are contemplating having a day wedding now," said Chugh, clearly not happy with the new restrictions throwing a spanner in the works of his dream wedding.

The night curfew was imposed after the national capital witnessed a spike in the COVID-19 cases.

The national capital recorded 5,100 fresh cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, the highest since November 27 last year when the city reported 5,482 cases in a day.

Seventeen more fatalities due to the infection took the death toll to 11,113, according to the Delhi health department.

The night curfew decision comes as another blow for the wedding season which has already a cap of 100 and 200 people for any close and open space events respectively in the capital, as per the order issued by the administration in the last week of March.

While the "bride, groom, and close family members" are exempted from the night curfew restrictions, no such provisions are available for guests attending the wedding.

"The bride, groom and their close family members will require e-passes that will be issued by district magistrates concerned. But, no guests will be allowed during stipulated curfew hours from 10 pm to 5 am," a senior Delhi government officer said.

Couples are worried that the condition of getting e-passes for attending weddings will prove to be a deterrent for wedding guests.

"I understand the cap on the number of people attending the wedding, but getting an e-pass due to the night curfew has raised concerns. Apparently those attending weddings have to get an e-pass. A lot of people who were planning to attend the wedding will back out to avoid this hassle. This also adds to our monetary loss. And this news comes so close to the wedding date that making changes to the arrangements is not possible. All payments have been made in advance,” said Bhavna Kaul, who is set to get married on April 25.