The cash ban during peak wedding season has turned celebrations into a nightmare for families and traders
On a drive down the main road of West Delhi's upscale Rajouri Garden, one sees a line of shops with colourful hoardings that scream out "Wedding Band". At this time of the year, the members of "band-party", as they are locally called, can be seen either practising or getting ready to head for the celebrations.
This year, however, the shops appear deserted - a fallout of the government's currency ban that was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8.
"I haven't received a single order since November 8. There are no bookings for January and February either," said Pawan Singh, the owner of one of the shops, who had been supplying horses, musicians and chandeliers to weddings for 12 years.
The months between November and February are considered to be peak wedding season in North India and for those in the business, the currency ban could not have come at a worse time.
With the two highest denomination notes turning to paper overnight, the last eight days have been nothing short of a nightmare, for both traders and the families that had a wedding around the corner.
For Mr Singh, paying his workers has also become a problem as they can only be paid in cash. Many families, he said, were insisting on paying with banned notes. With cash being strictly rationed, the families can barely spend hours standing in queues at banks or at ATMs.
Today, the government announced that families planning a wedding will be able to withdraw up to Rs 2.5 lakh in one go. But this can be done only from an account belonging to the father, mother or the person getting married.
Opposite Mr Singh's shop sits florist Chetan Sukhija, who also has seen sales dwindle. "We used to get orders of Rs 10,000 earlier, but now we have of Rs 5,000 or less," he said.
With most families already having withdrawn large amounts of cash before the currency ban, the issue of disposable money for paying most wedding contractors has become a major cause of worry.
For caterers, decorators and tent-wallahs, the problem is slightly different. For the bookings done before November 8 with a part payment, the problem now is receiving the balance.
"The customers say they will pay us in a month or so. We make adjustments because it's a tough time for everyone. The number of dishes the order for an average wedding has also come down," said Mahesh Bhayana of Bhayana Decorators and Caterers.
With the push for transition to plastic money, it was expected that high-end retail shops are doing better business. But the reality is different.
"Weekday sales have fallen by 40% and in weekends it has gone down by 20%," said the manager of Manyavar, a retail-store selling wedding trousseau.