Ludhiana: Night curfew-hit hospitality sector wants curbs eased on New Year eve

With night curfew set to play a party pooper, Ludhiana residents are heading to hill stations and vacations spots in other states to ring in the New Year

With New Year’s Eve around the corner, the hospitality sector is in a tizzy over the imposition of night curfew in the state, which is expected to play a spoilsport during the celebrations.

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Ruing losses, the sector has demanded the withdrawal of night curfew in the state on December 31, to revive the sector, which has already suffered a lot during the lockdown. Hotel and restaurant owners say only 35% people have booked afternoon parties as compared to last year. Punjab Hotel and Restaurant Association president Amarvir Singh said, “The sector will suffer losses amounting to crores unless night curfew restrictions are withdrawn. We had also approached the government but we haven’t got a positive response so far.”

Vishal Malhotra, owner, Flamme Bois restaurant, Pakhowal Road, said, “New Year revellers are not booking any night events due to the curfew and as December 31 is a working day, few people have made bookings for the afternoon.”

Amarjit Singh, who owns a hotel at Railway Station Road, said, “It is a tough time for the hospitality sector, which has already suffered huge losses during the lockdown. The government should take note of our problems and lift night curfew restrictions on December 31 as all guidelines are being followed at restaurants and hotels.”

Meanwhile, residents had mixed responses on the issue. Some said gatherings should not be allowed viewing the threat which looms over the city amid the pandemic, while others said exception should be made for a day. A resident of Model Town extension Arshdeep Singh said,”The government should abolish the night curfew so that residents can celebrate with their families. Huge gatherings can still be seen in market places and residents can take all the precautions while enjoying with their friends and family.”

REVELLERS HEAD TO HILL STATIONS TO RING IN 2021

With night curfew set to play a party pooper, Ludhiana residents are heading to hill stations and vacations spots in other states to ring in the New Year. This has increased business for travel agents and taxi service providers, who say that they are getting a lot of inquiries for two to three-day trips to Manali, Dalhousie, Shimla and other hill stations.

Punjab Taxi union president Jaideep Singh said, “Most of these inquiries are for December 31 as residents don’t want to celebrate New Year in the city due to the night curfew here. Although curfew has also been imposed in Shimla and other districts in Himachal, residents are still opting for these places.” He added that the snow-covered roads at the hill station may make travelling difficult.

Munish, a travel agent from Brown Road in the old city area, revealed that residents are opting for short-duration trips of two to three days as hotels have hiked the accommodation charges in view of the New Year rush.

Deepak Sharma, a city resident who is planning to spend the New Year’ eve in Dalhousie, says, “My wife and I normally celebrate with friends and family in the city. But this time, we planned to go out of station due to the night curfew here.” With fewer bookings for New Year parties this time around, luxury hotels are offering staycation packages to customers so that people can ring in the New Year without worrying about the curfew.”