Amid COVID-19 pandemic, Tripura couple tie the knot in Gomati

Agartala: Amid the fight against COVID-19 pandemic, a couple from Tripura’s Udaipur town found it to be a perfect day on Sunday to tie the knot with due permission from the Gomati district magistrate.

Sunny Sutradhar and Subhra Shil are the first couple from the state to have got married amid the national lockdown by following the guidelines and protocols set by the government.

Speaking with EastMojo, Sutradhar said that the marriage was fixed prior to the announcement of national lockdown and they had returned from Delhi to officially get married on April 26. “We know each other for several years and had met over social media and become friends before we finally decided to get married with permission from our family members,” Sutradhar said.

The duo now live in Delhi, where Sutradhar works as a supervisor in a company and Shil is a swimming instructor in a school. “We are working in Delhi and had returned home to get married but due to the lockdown, things changed. Now, we do not have time to delay the marriage. Once the lockdowm is lifted, we have to return to Delhi and resume our jobs,” Sutradhar added.

The couple came across an order which said special permission can be sought from the administration to complete the rituals following the guidelines of the government.

The father of the groom wrote an application to the Gomati district magistrate over the matter and it took two days to receive the official permission for the marriage.

The district administration in a letter allowed the couple to tie the knot with a number of conditions that allowed only 20 invitees, including relatives of both the bride and the groom, one vehicle at best with one driver and one passenger, no reception ceremony or music, except customary drum beats, mandatory hand washing provisions, social distancing, use of masks, etc.

Udaipur sub-divisional magistrate Aniruddha Roy said they had a tehsildar-level staff sent to ensure that all the guidelines were followed by the families of the bride and groom.

The family members, priests and all the invitees were seen maintaining social distancing and wearing face masks during the entire marriage.

The duo also appealed to ensure that social distancing is maintained by the people as instructed by the state government to avert the spread of coronavirus.