The restrictions announced by the State government to control the spread of COVID-19 had a mixed impact on commercial activities in Coimbatore district on Monday.
Retail outlets, except some of the large format ones, remained open and industries operated as usual. Shopping malls remained shut. Stalls at the food courts at the malls were open for takeaways ordered through mobile applications.
Many large format stores that were open on Monday morning were closed in the afternoon. Trade sources said retail outlets that were more than 3,000 sq.ft should not be opened.
According to the jewellers, there was no clear guideline on the type of stores that should be closed. Hence, all the jewellery outlets were opened on Monday. The jewellers appealed to the government to restrict movement of customers or timings, but to permit the shops to be functional.
The supermarkets in the city were also open. “There was not much rush on Monday. If the footfall increases, we may look at regulating customer entry into the stores,” said one of the owners of a supermarket here.
Bakeries, cafes, and tea stalls saw customers walking in as usual. However, hotels were closed for dining. Only parcel service was open. M. Sivakumar, secretary of Coimatore Hotel Owners’ Association, said restaurants located on highways / transit routes would not have parcel orders. Hence, these outlets would not have any business. “Almost 40 % of the staff left the hotels during the first wave of the pandemic. The biggest challenge now is retaining the workers. Parcel service alone will not be viable for the hotels. We need to pay the workers, bank loans, and rents. Hence, the government should look at financial package for the hotels,” he said.
Bank branches were open only till 2 p.m. “Earlier, customer movement was spread through out the day. Now, if there is a rush, branches will have to regulate entry of customers,” said a banker.
The Corporation’s health wing officials and flying squads went around the city to check for violations.
Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu Hair Dressers Union petitioned the Collector seeking relaxation of the restriction imposed on them. There were 1,500 shops and the owners had no alternative means to livelihood. They appealed to the Collector to permit them to open shops from 7 a.m. to noon.
The Kovai Mavatta Sunath Jama-ath Kolgai Kootamaippu (a federation of Muslim organisations) had appealed to the district administration to permit Muslims to pray at mosques. In a petition submitted on Monday, the federation said the new guideline that religious establishments should be closed had come as a shock as it was the holy month of Ramzan. They appealed to the government to allow prayers at mosques and they would comply with all COVID-19 safety protocols.
Of the 293 liquor outlets run by the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation Limited (Tasmac) in the district, 292 functioned on Monday, said officials. But bars attached to none of the outlets operated.
In Coimbatore south division, all the 135 liquor outlets were open. Of the 158 liquor outlets in north division, one located at Brookefields Mall was closed.
Private bars across the district were shut. All the gyms and health clubs in the district did not function on Monday.
In the Nilgiris, all bars and clubs were closed. The district administration said any recreational spaces that remained opened could be reported to the police.
(with inputs from M. Soundariya Preetha, Karthik Madhavan, Wilson Thomas in Coimbatore and Rohan Premkumar in Udhagamandalam.)