KASARGOD: Red tape can be brutal and notoriously slow. And there will not be one person to blame. Vimala K and Pushparajan PN realised that on their wedding day. Vimala, a native of Mangaluru, and Pushparajan, hailing from Mulleria in Kasaragod district, were to tie the knot at 11 am at Mulleria. But Covid regulations and an inflexible bureaucracy ensured they waited in their wedding attire at the Thalappady border for 10 hours before they were granted a pass.
Fifteen days ago, Vimala had applied for a permit to come to Kasaragod under a medical emergency. Since no medical certificate was attached along with the form, the application was rejected.Unaware of the rejection, Vimala, a saleswoman in Mangaluru, arrived at the border with her elderly mother Savithriamma at 7am on Monday.
Pushparajan, a plumber, too reached the border with a car to bring them home. “But when we were told about the rejection, we called up the collector and the panchayat secretary. We called directly because we had no one to speak for us,” said Pavithran, a pickup driver and Pushparajan’s younger brother. Pavithran said Vimala applied for a pass under a medical emergency because she did not find ‘wedding’ as an option for a travel permit. When the family realised their mistake, they decided to go for spot registration.
The process was excruciatingly slow. “They had applied for the permit four times. It was approved only the fourth time,” he said. By then, it was 4 pm. “At one point my brother thought they should get married at the border because the auspicious time was between 11am and 11.30 am,” said Pavithran. But because his mother was waiting back home, they decided against it. From 7am to 4 pm, Vimala waited in her bridal wear on the road at the border. Her mother Savithriamma too waited. “They were given no water or food,” said Pavithran.
All that Pushparajan could do was run from the border to the help desk throughout the day. “But we have no complaints. The collector and the panchayat secretary helped us get the permit,” he said. At 4.30pm, they got the permit and they reached home by 6 pm. The couple got married in the presence of 10 relatives and police officers, who arrived to check if social distancing and Covid protocol are being maintained.
The couple has gone in quarantine. “We agree that the government should be strict as part of the Covid control, but just hoped the officials will show a bit of humaneness and not take this long to issue the permit,” said Pavithran. “We are not blaming anyone. Just a hard lesson learned,” he said. District Collector D Sajith Babu issued a statement saying Vimala sought permit under medical emergency and it was rejected. But the officials at the help desk helped her reapply for a permit and the same was granted.