As the COVID-19 cases are falling in Mumbai and several districts, the Indian Hotel and Restaurant Association (AHAR) has appealed to the Maharashtra government to restore pre-coronavirus pandemic timings for restaurants and bars. AHAR honorary general secretary Sukesh Shetty in letters to the Mumbai District Guardian Minister Aslam Shaikh and Mumbai Suburban District Guardian Minister Aaditya Thackeray made a strong case for extending the timings of restaurants and bars beyond 10 pm as they are highly dependent on dinner services for sustainability.
‘’Restricting hours of these services during dinner will render the business unviable and lead to overcrowding in some of the popular outlets,’’ said Shetty. ‘’As per reports, we have come to understand that the Covid situation is well under control and many countries/states have eased the restrictions and are moving back to normalcy,’’ he added.
Shetty urged the government to issue specific guidelines for essential services like home delivery, takeaways which was previously permitted. ‘’This in turn may reduce incidents of harassment during implementation by local authorities and also crowding in outlets. The industry has taken proactive measures in vaccinating all its employees and maintained all Covid protocols, as recommended by the administration,’’ notes Shetty.
Shetty reiterated that the government needs to restore regular timing otherwise the industry, which is already in distress, may completely suffer if the present restrictions continue to be in place.
Shaikh, after he met the AHAR delegation, said he supports their view that the timing of restaurants be restored as the Covid cases have dipped in Mumbai.
