RAIPUR: Sheetal Bansal, deputy collector of 2017 Chhattisgarh State Services has decided her marriage with an Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer could wait. ‘Times are like that, she says. During her engagement ceremony held in January this year, she and her family could never have imagined that such a situation could arise that a pandemic would sweep the country.
“A marriage gathering at this time can never be safe for our family, relatives or our valued guests. I myself have been trying to impress upon every sarpanch and mukhias to forego any congregation-whether marriage, funeral, any social or religious engagement. If that is so, how could I break a national covenant, which PM Narendra Modi has himself underlined,” she asks.
“For me, postponing the marriage was indeed a tough decision after having made all the preparations, involved the family and invited all guests,” she admitted. Her decision has been lauded all around and helped create awareness-underlining as it did the universal concern and bringing in home to people around. Setting an example, Sheetal emphasized the significance of social distancing to effectively counter the challenge.
Posted as the CEO of Abhanpur block, about 30 km from Raipur, her marriage was scheduled on March 26. She is working under the leadership of Raipur collector S Bhartidasan. While Sheetal has been on duty, ensuring there is no social event in her area of jurisdiction, the locals are citing her case while pledging to avoid functions like marriage, birthday party or mass celebration and to maintain a safe distance from each other.“Never before has such a situation arisen when the nation faced a prolonged lockdown. People must realise it’s a very serious issue and desist from any celebration or gathering,” she averred. She and her fiancé Ayush Jain have now decided that the marriage would only take place when the coronavirus stands defeated.