Chandigarh: Night curfew ends, eateries can open till midnight

Now, restaurants and bars in Chandigarh can operate from 8am to 12am, but 50% cap on seating will continue

The Chandigarh administration has ended night curfew while also allowing all restaurants and bars to remain open till midnight.

During the second wave, night curfew was first imposed in Chandigarh from 10pm to 5am on April 6.

The decision was taken during the Covid-19 review meeting on Tuesday in view of the decline in the pandemic. The neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana have also done away with night curfew.

During the second wave, night curfew was first imposed from 10pm to 5am on April 6. It was subsequently curtailed to 11pm to 5am. Restaurants and bars were not allowed to remain open beyond 10:30pm.

Now, these establishments can operate from 8am to 12am. However, the restriction on 50% seating capacity will continue.

“We welcome the UT administration’s decision, which will bring much-needed relief to the beleaguered hospitality industry. We also request the administration to offer concessions to the industry, as since April last year, we remained shut for 40% period,” said Ankit Gupta, president, Chandigarh Hospitality Association.

Public transport to run at full capacity

Among other relaxations announced on Tuesday, the administration has allowed public transport to operate at full capacity instead of the existing 50% cap.

People can visit government offices in connection with their work between 12pm and 1pm on all working days, except Wednesdays and Fridays. However, the visitors must have been vaccinated with at least the first dose or have a negative RT-PCR report not older than 72 hours.

For holding marriages or social gatherings, the organisers don’t need any permission, but have to submit an undertaking to the area subdivisional magistrate stating that Covid-19 protocol will be followed.

Hockey, football and cricket academies of the sports department have also been allowed to function, by following all Covid-19 protocol and subject to the condition that all eligible players must have been vaccinated with at least the first dose. For players below the age of 18 years, consent of their parents is required.

HC Bar Body wants physical hearings

The Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association has demanded reopening of courts. In a letter to the registrar general, the Bar body said that it had conducted a survey, in which majority of the members was in favour of resumption of physical hearings.

It said most of the Bar members and court staff are vaccinated now. Even schools have opened for children, and hence, physical hearings be resumed at the earliest, it said. Since the closure in March 2020, limited physical hearings were started on February 8 this year but were suspended indefinitely in April in view of the second wave.

The second wave had peaked in May with 17,399 cases and 275 deaths in Chandigarh. The numbers kept falling in the subsequent months, with only 85 cases and no death reported in August so far.

Even as the cumulative infection numbers in the tricity have seen an uptick in the past couple of weeks, the daily figures have been hovering around four to five in Chandigarh. The administration has also achieved 100% target for the first vaccine dose, while 34% people have completed the vaccination cycle.