BENGALURU: Mining baron Gali Janardhan Reddy’s daughter Brahmani’s wedding was a visual treat for about 70,000 guests. However, not all was well. Haphazard vehicle parking, badly managed dining area, littering, traffic jams and picking of pockets were reported from the venue. Cine stars, who had come to bless the couple, only added to the chaos.
Though the venue entrance near Vasanthnagar was elegantly designed, the haphazard parking inside and outside the Palace Ground resulted in slow traffic movement on that strech. Along with buses, cars, two-wheelers and autorickshaws were also allowed inside, which added to the chaos in the parking lot.
The situation at the dining hall wasn’t good either. The dining hall (for non-VIPs), which can accommodate at least 3,500 people at once, wasn’t properly managed. Meals were served from 10.30 am for the guests. “We came to eat at 1.30 pm and got only rice and sambar,” said Venkatesh, a businessman from Bagepalli.Another person from Ballari, who did not wish to be identified, said, “Forget sweets, we did not even get water to drink.”
This led to a verbal duel between guests and those serving food. “When there are no sweets, how can they expect us to serve?,” Mahesh (name changed) who was serving food, said.
Apart from this, littering was a common sight at the venue. Plantain leaves, arecanut leaf plates, plastic water bottles and leftover food were strewn all over the place.
Since the number of water taps were insufficient, people were also seen washing their hands in the tub that was meant to dump plantain leaves. The housekeeping staff were finding it difficult to clear them.
Every time a celebrity entered the venue, mob would throng them to take selfies and bouncers had a tough time managing them.
As many as 100 bouncers from Bengaluru and Mysuru were deployed to control the mob. However, they also suffered minor injuries while managing the mob. Angry groups were seen indulging in verbal exchanges with the bouncers.
One of the bouncers said there was at least 20 pickpocket and mobile theft cases on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Meanwhile, some seers who were sitting near the mantap post wedding were complaining about Janaradhan Reddy.
“We came all the way from different parts of the state including Gadag, Chamarajanagar, Mysuru, Bagepalli and other places to wish the newly-weds. But, they did not even have the courtesy to greet us,” said a seer.
Gourmet’s delight
The guests were served a sumptuous lunch with over one hundred varieties of food items. Special arrangements were made to serve lunch for VIPs and VVIPs. The vegetarian fare, served on plantain leaves included 112 dishes with sweets and ice cream. On the platter were pheni, kesaribath, a box of milk sweets, fruits like kiwifruit, pear, papaya, watermelon besides pulav and puliyogare. Cooks from various parts of the state prepared the food. After lunch, Ballari’s Gulzhar pan, which is Reddy’s favourite, was served. Each guest was given a Tulasi and a sandalwood plant. An audio clip was played at the marriage venue in which Reddy said he conducted the marriage as per his expectations.