With weddings 'locked out', Purohits hit hard in East Godavari

Rajamahendravaram: About 15,000 Purohits have lost their livelihood in East Godavari district with the closure of over 600 function halls, Kalyana Mandapams and choultries due to lockdown.

In addition, hundreds of weddings were postponed because of the shutdown following the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic. Reports from other districts in the state also suggest similar circumstances.

In Rajamahendravaram alone, 150 function halls, choultries and Kalyana Mandapams were closed and 3,000 Purohits dependent on these have been rendered jobless.

Because of the pandemic, the weddings planned in the months of March and April were postponed. There are no auspicious Muhurthams up to July (Sravana masam) and later up to the months of August and September.

Along with Purohits and function hall managements and their work force, other allied categories such as Sannayimelam, decoration, lighting, catering units, etc dependent on these 'shubhakaryams' and attached to these wedding places also lost their earnings.

Thousands of workers doing itsy bitsy jobs here are facing starvation. The function halls and Kalyana Mandapams which provide accommodation for a minimum of 10 to 15 wedding functions once in a month at least during the season are now incurring heavy losses because of Coronavirus impact for at least a month now.

There is another segment, the hotel industry with banquet halls, which is affected. These hotels used to command a whopping amount with their AC function halls.

The tariff for the same used to range from Rs 1.5 lakh per day to Rs 5 lakh while the non-AC function halls and Kalyana Mandapams used to charge between Rs 40,000 and Rs 1 lakh.

The owner of the SV function hall, KS Raju, said that he had never seen this type of a situation and it was forcing them to meet the maintenance charges irrespective of the cancellations.

The marriage season lasts for only four months in a year which is the time to make money, he said.

"As per the government orders, it is inevitable to pay salaries to the staff on humanitarian grounds also. There was no certainty when the marriages would be held again," he added.

Andhra Pradesh Purohit Samakhya city convenor Indraganti Suryanarayana Murthi said that about 3,000 Purohits in the city were affected with the pandemic and facing many problems in meeting their family expenditure.

Some Muhurthams will be available in Sravana masam and after that there will be no Muhurthams for three months.

Along with marriages, many other functions like 'Griha Pravesams, Barasalaas', Vratams etc, have also been cancelled and consequently Purohits had lost their livelihood, he lamented.

It is not that just the Purohits but also the priests dependent on small temples who are affected now. But, the authorities have not yet to come to their rescue.