COVID forces couple to postpone wedding 3rd time

First it was Nipah, then floods and now it is the coronavirus which has forced two youngsters to postpone their wedding for a third time.

The two childhood sweethearts -- A Premchandran and Sandra Santosh -- hailing from nearby Eranhipalan, have had to postpone their wedding, scheduled to be held on Sunday once again, thanks to the restrictions imposed in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak.

The marriage of Premchandran (26) and Sandra (23) was originally fixed for May 20, 2018.

However, following the outbreak of Nipah virus early in May, which affected Kozhikode and Malappuram districts and claimed 17 lives, the wedding was postponed as there was a ban on social gatherings.

Though the kin thought of conducting the wedding soon after the Nipah outbreak subsided after about a month, the death of a close relative of the bridegroom made it impossible for them to conduct it for a year.

Accordingly, the function was rescheduled to be held during the Onam holidays of 2019.

However, the devastating floods of August last year played spoil sport, and the families decided to conduct the marriage on March 20 this year.

The deadly coronavirus, however, has come as a villain this time.

With the state government imposing a ban on large gatherings, the marriage has been deferred for a third time now.

Yet, the duo is taking the development in good spirit and is looking forward to tie the knot in September this year, relatives said.

Kerala has reported 40 positive cases, including three people who were cured so far, and over 40,000 people are under survillence.