How this became a bad time to marry…
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How this became a bad time to marry…

Demonetisation mars marriage preparations as shopping for gifts and making arrangements become difficult following the cash crunch.

How this became a bad time to marry… Residence of Akash Sharma in Sector 31, Noida

As residents across NCR flock to ATMs and banks to get cash and face hassles in their day-to-day transactions, those that have a marriage in the family these days are the worst affected. Here’s why.

In Noida, Akash Sharma, a resident of B-210 in Sector 31, whose son tied the knot on November 11, shared the hassles he faced along the way with City Spidey. “I withdrew a lot of money on November 7 for the wedding. But after the government’s decision, it all became useless. The notes were in denominations of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000.”

“When we bought something for Rs 300 with a Rs 500 note, we had to do without the change. This was the case with Rs 1,000 notes too,” he said.

Other family members who came for the wedding had similar problems. Rashmi Singh, who came from Punjab, said that she wanted to present gold bangles to the bride but she couldn’t buy one as she had invalid notes.

Kanu Sharma, the elder brother of the groom, said, “I had to arrange for liquor for the wedding. But due to the government decision, I could manage only a few bottles, which were insufficient.”

 

As queues outside ATMs grow longer (the one above is in Gurugram), currency garland makers find it diffucult to deliver this marriage season

  

In Gurugram, there seems to be utter chaos, and according to residents and shopkeepers, things have become way more expensive. Buying garlands of money has become especially difficult.

These garlands are part of the tradition for most Punjabi and Haryanavi families. City Spidey correspondent found out that garlands worth Rs 1,100 were being sold for Rs 3,100 in the first two days after the decision. And now, Sadar Bazaar garland-makers have run out of the raw material – notes of denominations other than Rs 500 and Rs 1,000.

Shopkeepers who make currency garlands have started charging Rs 20 to Rs 50 depending upon the number of notes per garland from those who bring their own notes.

Vivek, a shopkeeper in Sadar Bazaar, said, “Every year we made 80 to 100 garlands. But after the government’s decision we’ve only made three garlands for customers  who bought their own currency.” 

Kailash Verma, a resident of Central Park on Sohna Road, said, “These garlands are status symbols for us. We have been buying readymade garlands for weddings from this market for the last two decades, but we never faced this problem. Now we had to buy garlands for double the amount. We can’t skip the tradition you see.” 

However, there is some respite for residents as marriage lawn owners and band owners are being considerate. Pawan Bansal, owner of Green Gardens, a marriage lawn in Sector 18, Gurugram, said, “Every customer is coming with old currency notes to make the payment. I am willingly selling on credit to customers. I also ask them to transfer the amount in my account via cheque or online payment. I am dealing with my vendors the same way.”

Ravinder Bajaj, owner of Mahaveera Band located in New Colony, Gurugram, said that he accepted payment in denominations of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 only if the customer did not have enough cash with them. To other customers, he requested them to deposit money in his account or pay in cash.