Guests for Gupta brothers' sons' weddings begin to arrive

The guests invited to attend wedding ceremonies of the South Africa-based NRIs Gupta brothers' sons began to arrive here Wednesday at the Auli ski resort.

An estimated Rs 200 crore is likely to be spent on the high-profile weddings to be attended by VIPs, including spiritual gurus, political leaders and Bollywood celebrities, over the next few days.

Ajay Gupta's son Suryakant's marriage is to be held on June 19-20 while that of Atul Gupta's son Shashank is slated for June 21-22.

Security has been tightened from Joshimath to Auli in view of the VIP movements.

With the Uttarakhand High Court expressing concern earlier over the damage that the gala event may cause to the fragile Himalayan ecology, the local administration officials and those of the Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board are keeping a tight vigil on the event.

In order to address the environmental concerns raised by the court, the helicopters carrying the guests for the four-day extravaganza have been asked to land in Joshimath and Marwadi instead of landing straight in Auli, said officials.