Hyderabad: The state Assembly election, especially the model code of conduct in force, is overlapping with the wedding season in the auspicious ‘Kartika masam’ leaving people worried about carrying money for wedding-related activities like paying vendors or purchasing jewellery.
“Kartika masam is one of the holiest months in the Hindu calendar. Majority of events and programmes, mainly marriages, are performed in this month,” said B.V. Prasad, a priest.
People who are organising weddings say that they are more concerned about proving their source of money to the police, rather than shopping, booking function halls or making other arrangements.
In one such instance, P. Narsimha Reddy, who has taken a loan of Rs 5 lakh for his daughter’s wedding, is worried about being questioned about the same.
P. Narsimha Reddy, a retired government employee, said: “In the first week of October, we fixed our daughter's marriage for the third week of November. So far, we have booked a function hall but shopping remains. I saved over Rs 11 lakhs and borrowed Rs 5 lakh from my elder brother to buy gold for Rs16 lakh. If go out for shopping, I can prove Rs 11 lakh is mine from bank statements, but remaining Rs 5 lakh is a personal loan.”
“Proving this would be a problem. We are not in a position to postpone the dates due to religious sentiments. I requested the jewellery shop owner to get jewellery to my house; he suggested I deposit the money in his bank account or use a credit card for shopping,” Narsimha said.
P. Padma Reddy, Narsimha’s wife, said: “We can see on TV news about cash and gold seizures. Though all the money is white, we do not want to take a chance. If our savings are seized, we would have to postpone the marriage dates.”
Businessmen and traders running wedding apparel stores in Koti, Begum Bazaar, General Bazaar and Lad Bazaar, who accept only cash payments, are fearful of losing out on business.
Ashok Lal, who runs an exclusive wedding apparel store in Badi Chowdi, said: “Most shops have clearly have installed boards before their shops that state ‘only cash accepted, no digital banking’. This is bothering consumers a lot during the election time. Many told me that they have cash but are scared to bring it and requested me to accept credit card.”
Ravi, a resident, who has fixed his daughter’s wedding, said that there must be a provision for a one-time clearance from the police station concerned so that people who go out for wedding shopping are not hindered by the police.
“A middle-class family needs a minimum of Rs15 lakh for a daughter’s marriage. How can we go out shopping with Rs 50,000 in pocket that cannot even fetch a bridalwear. Moreover, not everyone has a credit card or uses online banking. For years, we save money,” Ravi’s wife R. Natasha said.
“We have fixed our daughter’s wedding for November 22. The catering contractor is asking for Rs 5 lakh as advance. We have booked a function hall for Rs 8 lakh and paid an advance of Rs 45,000 last week. The function hall owner asked us to pay the balance in cash, which has put us in a fix. Not only us, but all families who have fixed marriages are facing the same issue. I hope the Election Commission of India and the police understand,” Natasha said.
A senior police officer said: “People carrying huge amounts of Rs 5- Rs 15 lakh and above should have bank receipts, I-T papers, and the purpose; if shopping for marriage, the invitation cards, and function hall receipts must be produced. Our purpose is not to create a problem to the genuine public but to help and guide them.”
“We very well understand that people do a lot of shopping, that too well in advance of the wedding. They only need to produce receipts and relevant documents that tally with the cash that they are carrying; it's simple,” the officer said.
The officer said that the public can approach their local police for further guidance.
