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MUMBAI MOVES TO LEVEL 1; FHRAI APPEALS TO MAHA GOVT. & BMC TO ALLOW RESTAURANTS TO RE-OPEN AS PER GUIDELINES

20 th Jun 2021

India's apex Hospitality Association - Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) has requested the Govt. and the BMC to allow restaurants in the city to re-open for business as per the guidelines set in the Government’s latest Break the Chain order. With the positivity rate at 3.79 per cent and the oxygen bed occupancy at 23.56 per cent, Mumbai has moved up to level 1 classification. Restaurants in the city have been operating with level 3 restrictions whereas most cities in the State have been offered relaxations. The Association has appealed to the Government to be fair and to allow restaurants to operate as per permissible guidelines listed in the level 1 unlock order.

 

“The Maharashtra Government has done a great job in restricting the spread and taking care of its citizens in the second wave of the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic and we applaud the Govt. and the BMC for the same. We also understand that the Government wants to be careful and take as many precautions as possible to mitigate the crisis. The BMC’s efficient and effective handling of the second wave has been recognised and appreciated by all of India. We understand this can put a lot of pressure on the authorities and even an innocent slip-up can lead to backlash from all quarters. But on the other hand, this overly cautious approach is resulting in extremely serious damage to businesses, especially to restaurants in Mumbai. In cities falling under Level 2 including Thane, Navi Mumbai and Pune, restaurants and bars are operating till 11pm even on weekends but only Mumbai remains an exception. Now Mumbai is in level 1 and it is extremely unfair to restaurants in the city to be not allowed to operate as per the permitted relaxations. The cure is turning out to be worse than the disease,” says Mr Gurbaxish Singh Kohli, Vice President, FHRAI.

 

Over the last 15 months, India’s hospitality Industry is burdened with negative cash flows, huge capital expenditure and is under massive debt. The industry has been desperately waiting for sector-specific relief from the Government.

 

“Since March 2020, restaurants in Mumbai have remained closed and were allowed to reopen briefly for a period of 4 to 5 months with several restrictions. Additionally, no relief has been granted to the industry with regards to the payment of statutory charges and fees. All these factors combined have led to financial losses resulting closure of almost 40 per cent of restaurants and hotels in the State so far and several more are walking a tight rope,” says Mr Pradeep Shetty, Jt. Honorary Secretary, FHRAI & Sr Vice President, Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI).

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