People interested in hiring a wedding or reception venue need not lose sleep in scouting for one. Just get an influential relative to request the authorities to rent out spacious government quarters in the state capital, that too for a steal.

One has to shell out Rs 10,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh per day to hire a private marriage hall in town, while one of the spacious government quarters can come for a paltry Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 for two to seven days.

The upcoming wedding season starts on April 21 and culminates on July 14.

Going by the number of applications the state building construction department has received for renting out government quarters this season, it is evident that the budget wedding venues are in vogue among influential people and their kin. Every application comes on a letterhead of some minister, legislator or administrative officer (IAS and IPS) among others.

The person, who brings the application, comes in with a gentle smile but leaves with a demand for allotment of the preferred government quarter. The officers struggle to explain the paucity of vacant quarters and that everyone cannot be obliged.

“We have received around 150 applications in the past few days for allotment of vacant houses for wedding purposes. All such applications come with the recommendation of some political leader or senior government officer. However, we do not have that many vacant quarters. So, it is not possible for us to accommodate everyone. Still, we do not reject any application outright or tell the applicant that we won’t be able to allot houses,” said a senior officer of the building construction department, preferring anonymity.

The government quarters, which offer ample open space and lawns to host dinners, are located in localities like Punaichak, Shashtri Nagar and Gardanibagh and are available for up to Rs 5,000, the rate remaining the same irrespective of the days booked for. “We allot these quarters for a maximum period of seven days if the quarter is duly booked for the reception as well,” said the officer.

Recalling an experience, S.P. Mishra, a Patliputra resident, said: “I had booked an officer’s quarters, comprising four rooms and a big lawn, at Chajjubagh for Rs 3,000 for four days for my daughter’s marriage dinner last December.”