PremiumNRAI said reviewing the capacity and timings restrictions on restaurants, and permitting restaurant operations as per license conditions and that extending operating hours will prevent overcrowding
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NEW DELHI : The National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), the representative body of restaurants, has appealed to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today to allow restaurants to operate in full capacity and without timing restrictions.
It said reviewing the capacity and timings restrictions on restaurants, and permitting restaurant operations as per license conditions and that extending operating hours will prevent overcrowding. Currently, the city's curfew timings mandate that restaurants must shut by 10pm and operate on 50% seating capacity.
The body said it has taken up this matter multiple times in the past and that numerous studies, and even government’s own announcements have indicated that patients in the current omicron-dominated wave of the virus are far less likely to be hospitalisated than patients during the delta-dominated wave.
It said that it has also been established that restrictions like night curfew and limiting operating timings for industry have in no way helped in controlling the pandemic.
"Experience over the last two waves shows that the pandemic graph in fact continued to decline after restaurants were opened up for operations. The industry in Delhi however has continued to operate with capacity and timing restrictions for the last two years – despite other activities being permitted to operate normally at different points in time," said Prakul Kumar, the association's secretary general.
The letter added that with constantly declining numbers and overall improvement in the situation, many other states like Karnataka and Maharashtra have already removed restrictions on the industry. At the current crucial phase, any further restrictions on operations will be critical for the restaurant industry in Delhi.
There are about 96,000 eateries in Delhi which include both organised and unorganised players. Of this, close to 33,000 are organised restaurants with FSSAI numbers and GST registration. The association said revenue generated per year from organised restaurants in Delhi is about ₹31,132 crores and that Delhi eats out about six times a month in organised restaurants, compared to national average of 4.5 times a month.
Overall, the size of the restaurant industry shrank by more than 50% from ₹4,23,624 crore in FY20 to about ₹2,00,762 crore in FY21, the National Restaurant Association of India said.
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