Navi Mumbai people at a Mall after unlocking of covid-19 lockdown. (Express photo by Narendra Vaskar) Citing difficulty in meeting conditions of the Maharashtra government to allow malls and restaurants to remain open till 10 pm on all days, Retailers Association of India (RAI) on Thursday sought modification in the order.
According to the order issued on Wednesday, only staffers who have taken both doses of vaccines against Covid-19 will be allowed to work in malls and eateries and that too after completing 14 days since being administered the second jab.
The industry body maintained that since most of the staffers working in malls and eateries are in the 20-45 age group, they are yet to get fully vaccinated.
Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO of RAI, in a statement, said: “The notification on reopening malls and allowing stores and restaurants to stay open till late is a welcome move. The long pending decision was essential to help people get their jobs back and save their livelihoods.”
“However, it is an impractical ask as many people working in malls and stores are in the 20-45 years age bracket and therefore (are) not even eligible for full vaccination (based on the gap between two doses). When their eligibility has not been addressed, how can they resume their duties in malls? And how do malls resume operations without its people? We hope the government rethinks the conditions and modifies the order,” he added.
Meanwhile, Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI) welcomed the government’s move of allowing eateries to stay
open till 10 pm instead of 4 pm. The eateries can operate at 50 per cent capacity.
“The hospitality industry thanks Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and the Covid-19 Task Force for easing the restrictions. Restaurants will now be able to make some business which was just impossible while operating until 4 pm…,” said Sherry Bhatia, president of HRAWI, said in a statement.
“We were hoping that since restaurants continue to operate at only 50 per cent capacity, the government could have allowed us to remain open till midnight. However, the CM has kept his promise, and we welcome this move and expect more easing of restrictions shortly…” he added.
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