With borders sealed, Uttarakhand man waits 8 months to marry Nepalese woman

A 25-year-old man from a remote village in Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh district had to wait for eight months to tie the knot with a Nepalese woman after the border had been sealed in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

After the families of the bride and the groom finally obtained permission from local administrations of both countries, he crossed the border on Saturday along with five wedding guests including a priest and returned with his bride after the rituals, said an official.

Chintamani Bhatt, bridegroom from Jaayal village in Pithoragarh district, said, “I had gone to meet my fiancé on February 28. Later, my family fixed wedding in March, but the wedding was postponed due to the sealing of border because of Covid-19 pandemic.”

Bhatt’s marriage was fixed with Ambika Bhatt 19, a resident of Gurukhola village in Baitri district of western Nepal. After the sealing of the border, both families decided to postpone the wedding and wait for the lifting of the lockdown, a relative said.

When an auspicious date for the wedding came in Margshish (an auspicious month according to Hindu calendar), the bride’s and groom’s families decided to hold the wedding. Both families approached competent authorities of their respective areas in Pithoragarh and Baitri for obtaining permission to cross the international border, the relative said.

Bhatt said, “When the auspicious month for the wedding came, both families felt that it would not be proper to postpone the wedding anymore. So the applied for permissions to cross the border from their respective local administration”.

Bhatt crossed the border from Jhulaghat through a suspension bridge on the river Mahakali that connects the two countries on Saturday with five baratis (wedding guests) including a priest before noon and returned with the bride on the same evening.

KN Nagarkoti, in-charge, Seema Shashtra Bal (SSB) outpost, Jhulaghat bridge, said, “The bridge was opened only for baratis to cross the border on the permission of administration. When the barat returned we closed the bridge again.”

Pramod Bhatt, a local trader of Jhulaghat, said, “This is the first wedding in the area after lockdown. Citizens of both bordering areas have ‘Roti-beti’ (trade and family) relations with each other but sealing of border prevented them from strengthening the relations this year.”