Bihar’s liquor ban benefits UP

There are no high-end heritage hotels, no sprawling resorts and no picturesque locations. Yet, all wedding venues in east Uttar Pradesh districts are booked to capacity from October to December and then from January to April next year.

People from Bihar are spilling over to eastern UP to host weddings in their families. And the reason is the ban on liquor in Bihar.

Gaurav Anand from Siwan will be organising his sister’s wedding in November from Gorakhpur.

“The groom’s family is insisting on liquor being served during the functions and even my relatives feel that absence of liquor would rob the event of its fun element. So we have decided to have a destination wedding of sorts and both the families will come to Gorakhpur for the wedding,” he said.

Hotels in Gorakhpur, Ballia, Ghazipur, Mau, Chandauli, Maharajganj and even Varanasi are already booked to capacity for the wedding season in October-December.

In fact, local residents are finding it difficult to find guest houses and hotels for their weddings.

“I never thought that liquor would be such a major issue and I would not find a place for my granddaughter’s wedding in December. We have been unable to find a suitable venue and will now shift to Kanpur, where the groom’s family lives, for the wedding,” said Mr S.K. Srivastava, a retired government employee.

For a large number of families in Bihar, serving liquor is a tradition of sorts, especially for the “baraatis”, and an absence of it is seen as an insult to guests.

With the ban on liquor in Bihar, people are finding it difficult to make guests “happy” — “kaise guest ko happy karenge,” they ask.

Mr Vishwas Rai, a businessman from Vaishali, who is preparing to host his daughter’s wedding in Varanasi in October, said that despite the added cost of travel and boarding and lodging, he would be spared unnecessary tension.

“If you serve liquor discreetly, the cops come and demand hefty bribes. There is the tension of dealing with cops during the wedding and also that of a guest misbehaving with them. To avoid all such hassles, it is better to pay more but get peace of mind,” he said.

For hotels and guest houses in eastern UP district, the liquor ban in Bihar has created a business boom.

“We have created packages for families from Bihar that include hotel, food, local transport, flower decorations, band, beauty packages for the bride and even a local guide for last minute shopping. We also make arrangements for pundits. In short, if someone is coming here for a wedding, we make sure that there is no problem,” said Mr Rajiv Singh, the manager of a well-known hotel in Gorakhpur.

Some hotels are even arranging for local sightseeing and visits to temples for the guests after the wedding.