NVCC welcomes ease in curbs, urges traders to follow Covid-19 guidelines

Nagpur: President of Nag Vidarbha Chambers of Commerce (NVCC) Ashwin Mehadia welcomed district guardian minister Nitin Raut’s decision to extend restrictions till March 31 while offering some relaxations. Hawkers and autorickshaw drivers too have cancelled their plan for an indefinite hunger strike. However, hoteliers expressed disappointment.
State home minister Anil Deshmukh has urged the police department to go slow on citizens venturing out during the extended restrictions. “Do not use force like lathi charging the public during enforcement. Ensure that restrictions are being followed as much as possible through other strategies,” he said.
City police chief Amitesh Kumar said the first phase of the bandobast would be between 4pm and 11pm and the second phase would be between 11pm and 6am. “Traders and merchants were taken into confidence before announcing the restrictions and relaxations for the coming days. They were very much part of the decision-making process. If they resort to protesting then strict legal action could be taken against them,” he said.
While thanking Raut for considering the business community’s concerns, Mehadia said shopkeepers will extend all cooperation to the administration.
On the lines of Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray’s slogan ‘My Family, My Responsibility’, Mehadia urged traders to strictly follow the Covid-19 protocol and practice ‘Majhi Dukan, Majhi Jawabdari’ (My Shop, My Responsibility).
“Don’t entertain customers without masks,” he said and urged shoppers to skip visiting a mask-less shopkeeper. “If a shopkeeper is not following guidelines then he should keep his establishment closed,” said Mehadia. In a video statement, he urged shopkeepers to strictly follow the 4pm deadline.
Earlier in the day, Mehadia had threatened the administration by saying, “If the lockdown is extended, traders will take to the streets to oppose the decision and will keep their shops open from Monday (March 22).”
Hawkers and autorickshaw drivers from Hingna too cancelled their plan to resort to an indefinite hunger strike, said Prem Kumar of Autorickshaw Chalak Malak Sangh (Hingna road), who, on Friday, had announced that as many as 300 autorickshaw drivers and a similar number of hawkers would stage an indefinite agitation at Lokmanya Nagar Metro Station, near Hingna T-point if the weeklong restriction got stricter.
Meanwhile, Nagpur Residential Hotels’ Association (NRHA) termed the extension of restrictions to hotels and restaurants unacceptable. Restaurants and Banquet Halls have been closed by the administration since the last 15 days in Nagpur and after a lot of follow-up and requests, the latest extension order permits restaurants to remain open only till 7pm.
NRHA president Tejinder Singh Renu and secretary Deepak Khurana have condemned the administration for giving ‘step motherly treatment’ to the hospitality sector. “While all shops have been permitted to remain open till 4pm, the administration should have allowed restaurants to operate from 4pm to 11pm. NRHA has always supported action against those who do not follow distancing and other Covid safety protocols. If any restaurant is found not following the requisite SOP, the administration should take action, the duo said via a press release.
“All our members are taking precautions. The administration needs to understand that those who are following all the guidelines must not be punished. It would have been better if restaurants were asked to remain shut rather than the 7pm norm. At least we’ll save expenses like salaries, electricity bills, raw materials and other overheads. Online food delivery is permitted till 11pm, same as before when there was total curfew last year,” they said.
The hospitality sector devoted a lot of its energy and resources during the first lockdown as some restaurants and hotels offered free meals to the needy. “We are not begging for any favours for our generosity in the past. We are only legitimately demanding our rights,” they added.
“Everyone knows that restaurants do business only during dinner time and with 7pm as the closing time, we’ll only increase our losses,” the duo stated.
“Western Maharashtra is also witnessing a similar surge in Covid cases, but only Nagpur is being punished with such harsh restrictions. NRHA fails to understand why this step-motherly treatment is being meted out only to Nagpur,” said Renu.