Ludhiana restaurants’ body decides to move HC over Capt govt’s fresh curbs

A day after the Punjab government announced fresh curbs, barring restaurants and hotels from operating on Sundays and allowing them to open only for takeaways and home-deliveries on weekdays, the restaurant body on Tuesday decided to move the Punjab and Haryana high court against the decision.

The association members stated that their businesses are a “soft-target” for the government, which has allowed factories to continue operations.

“How are we supposed to meet our fixed expenses such as rent, electricity bills and salaries of our staff when we have no income due to these restrictions? Home deliveries and take-away account for only 10% of our business,” said Sukhkaran Gill, owner of Bistro 226 in Ghumar Mandi.

They also opposed the extension of night curfew timings and said the government must focus on improving the medical facilities instead of imposing more restrictions. “Our business was already down by 70% due to the night curfew as most residents move out with their families only after 8:30pm. This decision to shut dine-in completely will further bring down the business to 8-10%. We have always been a soft target even when we maintain proper hygiene and follow all the norms,” said Vishal Malhotra, the owner of Flamme Bois on Pakhowal road.

Amarvir Singh, president of the hotel and restaurant association, said, “There are over 450 restaurants in the city and around 300 are being run on rental properties. We were struggling to bounce back from last year’s losses but now, the government has brought in more restrictions. How are we supposed to pay the fixed charges in such a scenario? The government has taken its decision in a haphazard manner without giving a thought to our problems. We will move the high court against these restrictions.”

Rajat Malhotra, the legal advisor for the hotel and restaurant body, said, “The government has announced restrictions only for the hospitality sector while other sectors are carrying on with their work. The government has not even provided the hotels and restaurants any sort of relief against their losses. We will file a civil writ petition in the high court under Article 226, 227 and 14 to challenge the government’s decision.”

Closure of bars another blow

The owners stated that the closure of bars is yet another blow to their sector. Vice-president of the hotel and restaurant association, Amarjit Singh, said, “Bars were allowed to operate in the month of March when the government had to collect the annual fees. But now, these have also been told to bring shutters down. A large portion of the restaurant business is dependent on bars and the government should reconsider its decision.”

Shopkeepers in the same boat

With the state government extending the night curfew timings by another hour and enforcing more curbs for weekends, shop owners across the district are also ruing losses.

The shopkeepers in old city markets such as Chaura Bazar and Akalgarh market, which are famous for ‘Sunday markets’, stated that the government should allow the markets to open on weekends when at least 30% of the week’s business is carried out.

Manpreet Singh, president of the Akalgarh market garment association, said, “We also want the infection count to go down. But the government is just harassing the traders. The fresh curbs have only made residents more worried. Night curfew should be imposed from 10pm and the Sunday shutdown should be done away with. The government should focus on enforcing Covid norms rather than harassing us.”

General Secretary of Chaura Bazar shopkeepers association,Gurcharan Singh Chann said, “More than 30% of the week’s business is done on Sundays in most markets in old city. If these markets are not allowed to open on Sundays, traders will face severe financial crisis and they will be forced to terminate the services of their employees and workers. The government should consider the repercussions of its decisions.”

Members of Punjab Pradesh Beopar Mandal stated that they will take up the matter during the meeting of its core committee to chalk out an action plan against the irrational and unplanned decisions being taken by the state government.

Punjab Pradesh Beopar Mandal general secretary Sunil Mehra said, “The state has already suffered a loss of over ₹3 lakh crore in the last one year and the government is still pushing its traders towards economic crisis. It is the failure of the government in improving the health care system, but the traders are bearing the brunt for the same.”

Some others, however, said the curbs were necessary. Amarjit Singh, president of Model Town market association, said, “Imposition of restrictions is necessary in view of the recent spike in cases. But the government should also take into account the losses being borne by the traders and help them in some way.”