The civil life across the county is about to come to a halt amid the fear of coronavirus spread. The government has asked people to skip mass gatherings. Even, Shibchar upazila of Madaripur district is already under a lockdown to stem the march of coronavirus.

Under this circumstance, Md Shah Alam, civil surgeon of Brahmanabria district, on Friday married his daughter off through a grand event.

The civil surgeon organised the marriage ceremony at his official residence adjacent to Faruki Park of the town where he invited around 300 people, said local sources.

The list of the invitees included physicians, dentists and officials of the civil surgeon office, the sources added.

However, Shah Alam denied the allegation. He said there was no crowd in the marriage function and it was done only in the presence of some family members.

According to locals, bridegroom Moinul Hossain, son of Mosharraf Hossain, is an engineer hailing from Chinair-Chapuir village in Sadar upazila, while bride Shannin Alam Momo is a dentist by profession.

The key events of the marriage began after the Zumma prayers.

Doctors from Brahmanbaria General Hospital, Habiganj General Hospital, dentists of local clinics, medical representatives and officials of civil surgeon office gathered at the event.

However, the entrance of the civil surgeon's residence was shut sensing the presence of journalists. Only the invited guests were allowed to enter the house.

To prevent the entry of journalists, Civil Surgeon Shah Alam took position in front of the gate.

Earlier, at 11am, this correspondent saw a big decorated gate inside the main entrance to welcome the guests. There was a stage too for the accommodation of the bridegroom and other guests.

Besides, there was cooking arrangements too that covered a large area inside the main entrance of the civil surgeon's official residence.

Seeking anonymity, a district Awami League leader said the government has instructed all to avoid mass gatherings to prevent coronavirus. At this crucial moment, arranging marriage in a wide spectrum is not justified.

When asked about the event, civil surgeon Shah Alam said the marriage date was fixed a month before.

"The marriage events began on Thursday. And this is not possible for me to postpone the marriage of my daughter," he said.

The marriage was held in a small scale and he could not invite many of his relatives, added the civil surgeon.

When contacted, Deputy Commissioner of the district Hayat-ud-Daula Khan said he would look into the matter.

"The government has instructed to avoid public gatherings to prevent coronavirus infection. Nobody is above accountability," he added.