The Uttarakhand tourism department will soon hold weddings at its three renowned destinations of Trijugi Narayan, Ganga and Mandakini river banks on the way to Kedarnath shrine.

The decision is being implemented three months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the state to create wedding destinations in the hills to attract more tourists in the state.

Around three months after Modi on December 8, 2023 appealed to the people of India to solemnize wedding destinations bound marriages in Uttarakhand’s Himalayas, the state tourism department has set the ball rolling.

State government’s main tourism operating agency Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) developed an action plan, as a pilot project, to conduct marriages at three select sites. Officials informed that GMVN has taken responsibility to conduct marriages akin to any other professional marriage planner.

Corporation has prepared its four special marriage package plans for three destinations Trijugi Narayan considered as a marriage place of lord Shiv and Parvati, Ganga Resort in Rishikesh and Mandakini Resort on the bank of River Mandakini. Marriage plans include low cost services in the Silver package category, followed by Gold, Platinum and Diamond class services in the order.

According to the officials, GMVN has fixed minimum marriage service cost as Rs 6 lakh under silver package plan, Rs 10 lakh for gold, Rs 18-20 lakh as platinum and Rs 30-40 lakh will be the least charge under diamond package plan. Higher side costs under diamond plan can go up to any extent as per the services desired by the marriage parties, informed officials. Besides traditional marriage services as demanded by the parties, GMVN has also planned to provide helicopters to its customers.

GMVN is the prime tourism operation government body in Uttarakhand has its resorts and guest houses are located almost at every tourist place in the state. These properties are set up at prime locations of the respective tourist destinations.

“We have taken up the task of destination weddings for the first time after studying its tourism prospects in the state following an appeal made by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year. Our people are being trained by the marriage planners and hospitality experts. Although it’s a pilot project, GMVN is getting good response for its destination wedding packages.

“Nearly 20 queries have come to us for Trijugi Narayan in the last few days. We plan to expand our destination wedding horizons under GMVN to other parts of the region as well,” GMVN general manager Dayanand Saraswati said.