Nagpur: With the dark shadow of Covid-19 diminishing and restrictions gone, ‘happy days’ are back again for the wedding halls, caterers, jewellers and many more. A surge in marriages is on the cards. After a lull of about 2 years owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, wedding halls, lawns, hotels, and open grounds across the Nagpur City are witnessing hectic activities as people have now started holding grand-scale weddings. There is heavy rush for bookings bringing broad smiles on the faces that were starved of ‘baratis’ during the dark period of the virus.
The jewellers, cloth traders, cosmetic shops, footwear shops, lightings, band wallas, DJ musicians and other traders are witnessing rush for the wedding season. Catering, decorations, food items, flowers, jewellery, transport, entertainment and clothing are directly related to the wedding industry. This will give a great boost to both various businesses as well as generate large-scale employment, he added.
Today’s Rate
Saturday 28 Sept. 2024
All the banquet halls across the city have been fully booked till May-June. According to reports, there are 21 muhurts (auspicious days) this season and preparations for around 20,000 marriages are in full swing.
The hall bookings, which suffered the most during the pandemic, have bounced back to business. Weddings are one of the biggest revenue generators for the owners and they had suffered a lot during the pandemic. The business is reviving now,” said one of the lawn owners. It is a welcome change as people are back to holding grand celebrations.
The wedding industry had suffered a lot during the pandemic as there was hardly any activity during the lockdown. Besides, the government had restricted the number of guests initially to 20. In the second wave which started in February, many weddings were cancelled.
According to reports, jewellers are expecting record sales this wedding season. Many families had postponed their celebrations in the past two years and are now splurging on jewellery, said one jeweller. The demand for gold jewellery has jumped at the jewellery shops in the city. There is strong demand for gold jewellery with a rise of about 40 per cent as compared to the previous month. Overall there is excitement in the jewellery markets as the number of weddings this season is estimated to be 4 lakh in Maharashtra alone.
Reports further said that the jewellers have anticipated that this season would be special and introduced a huge range of jewellery consisting of the latest designs and collections, well in advance to woo the customers. Although the gold prices are at record high levels, people are not hesitating to buy gold ornaments this season as they are aware that they would be getting Hallmark certification and quality products. They also know that gold always gives steady and assured returns in the long run.
In the Nagpur market, gold is being quoted at Rs 53,100 per 10 grams (Excluding 3 per cent GST) and silver at Rs 69,000 per kg (Excluding 3 per cent GST). Due to conflicts and uncertainty in the international market the gold prices are expected to go up to Rs 65,000 per 10 grams by end of this year, said a jeweller.
