Srinagar: Valley’s restaurant owners on Thursday urged the administration to exonerate their businesses from the ongoing Covid lockdown, in terms of allowing takeaways and home deliveries of food.
In this regard, a delegation led by Sheikh Feroz, president of Restaurant Owners Association Kashmir, met the Deputy Commissioner (DC) Srinagar, Mohammad Aijaz Asad on Thursday, and explained to him how the restaurant business is getting ruined with each passing day due to the constant losses, since the outbreak of Covid last year, the spokesperson of the association said in a statement.
The delegation informed DC that several restaurants, particularly those that had been recently established, have permanently winded up because of the unbearable losses, the statement said.
So far many owners somehow managed to pay the salaries to their staff members despite the losses, the spokesperson said, but now it is becoming impossible for them to pay salaries in the absence of business.
Some youngsters had established restaurants as their business ventures in recent years, but these newly established business units are the worst hit because of the pandemic outbreak. These newborn business units were supposed to provide a livelihood not only to owners but also to those who worked with them as staff members such as chefs, waiters, delivery boys, receptionists, and so on, but now they are in debt instead.
The administration can help the restaurants from getting collapsed further by allowing them to run their businesses in a limited way. The delegation told DC that allowing restaurants for takeaways and home deliveries of food will help them to continue and sustain their business to some extent, and subsequently, the practice will ensure there are no further layoffs. Allowing home delivery of food will also help the families affected with Covid to get their meals on time and as per their choice.
Deputy Commissioner gave a patient hearing to the suggestions and requests of the delegation and assured them he will take up the matter with higher-ups for a final decision in this regard.
Restaurant Owners Association Kashmir hopes that the administration would consider its request and would vindicate restaurants from the ongoing restrictions, the statement added.
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