Nagpur: Hotels and restaurants in Second Capital of the State, have expressed dismay over the fresh restrictions issued by the Nagpur Municipal Corporation, allowing dine-in facility at restaurants only till 4pm, in a bid to control Delta variant of Covid-19.
It is pertinent to mention that with the issuance of order by the administration, restrictions apply again in Nagpur city under relevant sections of Epidemic Diseases Act 1897, the Disaster Management Act 2005, and also other relevant laws/rules from Monday. Essential shops and establishments can remain open till 4 pm on all days. Non-essential shops and establishments can remain open till 4 pm on weekdays and will be closed on Saturdays and Sundays.
The new restrictions, which will come into force from Monday, will be detrimental for the survival of the restaurant industry that had barely got back, industry insiders said and urged the government to extend timings for dine-in operations.
“During the lockdown-like curbs imposed in April amid the second wave of Covid-19, the state had seen a spate of restaurant workers going back to their hometowns. With the number of cases receding in the last couple of weeks, the restaurants, with the hope of resuming business in full swing, had called their workers back and got them vaccinated adhering to government norms, not to mention by paying from our own pockets. But now, with guidelines allowing restaurants to open only till 4pm, the restaurant owners are worried if all their efforts have come to naught!” said Saheb Singh Arora of Hotel Airport Centre Point.
“We had an overwhelming response in the past 2-3 weeks but freshly imposed restrictions will exacerbate the hospitality business which is trying to get back on the wagon. Shops and restaurants are only allowed to operate till 4 pm; no one comes for dine-in services in the noon. Rather than that we just want the slot of 6:00 pm till 11:00 pm and for takeaways till 12:00 am to cover up our expenses. Otherwise there’s no point of keeping restaurants open,” he added
Pressing the same demand of extending the timings for restaurants, Karan Singh Tuli of Kake Da Hotel said, “Most of our patrons chose dinner slots to enjoy our delicacies with their friends and family. The move of restricting timings for restaurants came as a shock for us, as we were adhering to all the norms issued by the State Government besides ensuring every preventive and precautionary measure to curb spread of virus borne disease.
