Published On : Sat, Dec 25th, 2021

Hoteliers, restaurants curse Night Curfew, forced to cancel Christmas, New Year’s bookings

Advertisement


Nagpur: The Maharashtra Government decision to impose Night Curfew in the wake of Omicron spread across the State has received flak from restaurant and hotel industry who were compelled to cancel their pre-booked New Year Eve parties, Christmas events and refund to revellers during their heydays.

The prominent restaurant and hotel owners from the Second Capital of the State have expressed their displeasure on Government’s move of Night Curfew and suggested that Maharashtra Government should have opted for district-wise restriction depending upon the number of cases.

Speaking to Nagpur Today, Wasim Shaikh, Food and Beverage Manager, De’Martini said that the Government’s decision of Night Curfew that came on Christmas’ Eve, proved bane for hoteliers and restaurant business across the city as we were compelled to cancel our bookings and give away refund.

“With Christmas and New Year celebrations around the corner, many hotels and restaurants were decked up adhering to festive zeal and also prepared special menus taking note of the special occasion. However, with the implementation of Night Curfew; all our efforts and money went to waste. Not to mention the restrictions have struck during the heydays of hotel and restaurant industries,” said Shaikh.

“The city has only reported two cases of Omicron. One of them has already successfully recovered. Under such circumstances restricting hotels and restaurant business is beyond my imagination. It appears that the lockdown, restriction, or Night Curfew, in the current case is the only way for the State to show its responsibility,” Shaikh mentioned.

Saheb Singh Arora of Hotel Airport Centre Point stressed that the State could have proposed district-wise restriction depending upon the severity of the virus instead of enforcing Night Curfew across Maharashtra.

The restaurant and hotel business have already suffered too long during the first and second wave of the pandemic. While the brunt of that difficult time was just starting to fade away, the State Government imposed Night Curfew at the peak of business time. The Maharashtra Government should have opted for district-wise restriction depending upon the rise in cases. Not to mention hotels and restaurant owners have always made sure to comply with every norm proposed by the administration to curb the menace of dreadful virus. The Government should have acted more merciful,” said Saheb Singh.

The President of Chamber of Associations of Maharashtra Industry and Trade (CAMIT) Dipen Agrawal said that the only solution to contain the Covid-19 is in tracing and testing instead of proposing arbitrary restrictions.

“The Government has a scientific formula to implement restrictions. Positivity rate of the city compared to availability of oxygen beds in the city used to decide about the level of curb to implement in the respective city. However, just because cases are cropping up in Mumbai and Pune; restricting business across the State is just an example of bad governance! Sans any financial package, how can anyone sustain the adverse effect of the third wave of the Covid-19, when business, employment will take a hit?” laments Agrawal.

Shubham Nagdeve