Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The restaurants, hotels and kiosks near tourist spots and haats are the ones that continue to suffer the most during the Sunday lockdown. People associated with these outlets claim their earnings rise on weekends as people come out with their families on these days.
They urge the government to lift the one-day lockdown at least for dine-in facilities so that they may be able to recover the losses incurred during the corona curfew.
Kiosk owners near tourist spots claim they earn more on Sundays than on other days due to a larger number of footfalls. As the lockdown is still in place on Sundays, their business is bound to suffer.
Naveen Sujwani, owner of the restaurant chain, ‘Bapu Ki Kutia’, says he wishes the markets remain open on Sundays, as well. He says they earn the most on Saturdays and Sundays. If the situation is favourable, the government should open markets on Sundays too, he says.
Suneel Ramchandani, an ice-cream stall owner, says he sells ice-creams at VIP Road. He says the number of visitors almost doubles on Saturday nights and on Sundays. “As there are no visitors during the night and no visitors on Sunday, we are suffering great losses,” says Suneel.
Ganesh Pandey, owner of the fast-food chain, Ganesham, in different areas of Bhopal, says the earnings of the entire week depend on Sundays. He says that, if the government wishes to keep people confined in their homes for one single day, they may choose any other day but, on Sunday, they should keep the city open. “As the number of corona cases is going down and normality has been restored somewhat, the government should give a thought to the hotel business,” says Pandey.
A vendor who sells fruits in the haats, Rakesh Sahu, says they sell the most amounts during the weekend bazaars on Saturdays and Sundays. “But, due to the Sunday lockdown, we’re suffering terrible losses as, on any other day, we don’t find that number of people in the markets,” says Sahu.
