PANDEMIC BLUES
Ludhiana: The hospitality industry says banning of social gatherings and functions in 11 districts, including Ludhiana, from Sunday—with only exception for weddings and that too with a cap of 20 persons—will hit them hard.
Already, the 9pm curfew—which started from Thursday—came as a jolt for hotel, restaurant and marriage palace owners, but capping the number of guests and allowing only wedding functions has hit the business hard as they are receiving many calls for cancellations. Businessmen said they would suffer huge losses and the government should reconsider its decision and increase the cap to at least 50% of the venue capacity and also allow other functions to take place.
Speaking to the TOI, Amarveer Singh, president of Hotel and Restaurant Association, Ludhiana, said, “The new rule has come as a huge setback because more than 50% of the functions scheduled to take place till March 31 in Ludhiana’s hotels and marriage palaces have been cancelled or postponed. We have suffered the most in cases where the wedding dates are near. One of our associates had a big booking for a wedding scheduled to take place on Sunday and guests had already started arriving from all over India. With just a day to go, neither can the host cancel the wedding nor allow more than 20 guests. As a result, venue owner as well as the client will suffer huge losses as all the arrangements have been made and money paid in advance.”
Asserting that hospitality industry had become a soft target for the government, Singh added, “We are not against taking the safety precautions, but restrictions on our industry alone is not justified. Why are cinema halls allowed to open with 50% capacity and factories allowed to operate fully even during night hours? Can coronavirus only spread in hotels, restaurants and marriage palaces?”
SS Rai, a hotelier and general secretary of Punjab Tent Dealers and Welfare Association, said, “Due to the new restrictions, about 10 functions scheduled to take place in my hotel in the next two weeks have been cancelled, as majority of these were non-wedding functions like engagement, roka ceremony, anniversary celebrations, among others. Besides, two wedding have been postponed to next month. The government does not have any idea about the quantum of losses suffered by our industry.”
Amarjit Singh Talwar, chief advisor of Hotel and Restaurant Association, Punjab, said, “Our industry was the worst sufferer of lockdown and curfews. The situation will not change until the government drafts an SOP, considering ground realities. We should be allowed to operate at 50% capacity otherwise our industry cannot be saved.”