Vijayawada sub-collector Dr Saloni Sidana married Ashish Vashishta, an Indian Administrative Service officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre, on Monday by paying a court fee of Rs 500 in the office of Bhind additional district magistrate.
According to reports, Karnataka mining tycoon Gali Janardhan Reddy spent over Rs 500 crore for his daughter’s wedding a couple of weeks ago, an IAS officer from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh has set an example by marrying her colleague by spending just Rs 500.
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Sidana was back to her duty back within 48 hours, in Vijayawada, reporting to Krishna district collector A Babu. The 27-year-old officer distributed sweets among the staff in the collectorate to share her happiness.
“It was really a pleasant surprise to all of us. She has shown an example to all of us at a time when the currency crisis has hit the entire nation,” a junior official in the chief minister’s office said.
Sidana, however, does not consider it something that should be publicised and was quoted saying that;
“I don’t think there is anything unusual about it. It was purely a personal affair and hence we wanted to have it in a very simple manner. In fact, my husband also returned to the duty on Wednesday itself.”
“We also had a simple marriage ceremony as per our customs apart from registering it (in court),” she said.
Apart from family members, a few close relatives of the couple were also present at their wedding. And there was no lavish dinner or reception.
Asked whether they would like to throw a party for their friends and relatives, Sidana laughed and said that no plans have been made yet.
She cleared the UPPSC exam in her first attempt in 2013 by securing the 74th rank and was given the Andhra cadre. A topper throughout her academic career, Sidana completed her MBBS course in Delhi and worked at the All India Institute Of Medical Sciences as a radiologist for some time before opting for the civil services.
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