Freed of curbs, Delhi’s businesses hope for swift return to normal

On Friday, the DDMA headed by lieutenant governor Anil Baijal removed all Covid-19 related restrictions -- including night curfew, seating restrictions in restaurants, and restrictions on operating times for business -- in Delhi from Monday

Traders, restaurateurs and banquet hall operators in the city welcomed the Delhi Disaster Management Authority’s (DDMA) decision to lift the remaining Covid related restrictions in the national capital, and expressed hope that the move, although a bit late, will lead to a much-awaited economy recovery in the coming months. Many traders also demanded relief measures in the upcoming budget to increase the pace of economic revival.

Many traders also demanded relief measures in the upcoming budget to increase the pace of economic revival. (ANI)

On Friday, the DDMA headed by lieutenant governor (LG) Anil Baijal removed all Covid-19 related restrictions -- including night curfew, seating restrictions in restaurants, and restrictions on operating times for business -- in Delhi from Monday.

Sandeep Anand Goyle, the managing committee member of the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), said that the increase in business hours will help eateries stagger the entry of customers. “When the operation timings were restricted, customers were also coming early. Moreover, there was 50% restriction on sitting capacity which was severely impacting our business. While other businesses were provided relaxation last year, we were perhaps the only industry operating under these conditions, which has led to many restaurants closing down,” said Goyle, adding that the industry is looking forward to a return to normalcy.

Across the old Delhi commercial hub, Sanjay Bhargava, who heads the Chandni Chowk Sarv Vyapar Mandal, said the lifting of restrictions came at a good time as business is expected to pick up in March and April due to upcoming festivals and the wedding season.“But it should have been done earlier. Now the administration should focus on ensuring that perennial problems like encroachments in markets are tackled to ensure social distancing. There is hardly any space left for people to walk freely. The decision to reduce mask related fines (down to ₹500, from the earlier ₹2,000) is also a good move as we have reached a stage where people should understand on their own that safety in their own hands,” he said.

At Kamla Nagar market, near DU North campus, traders said that they are happy about the return to normalcy even as they pushed the Delhi government for a relief package to recover form the economic loss incurred in the last two years. “We are very happy with this decision. It will lead to normal hustle-bustle returning to Delhi’s commercial spaces. The high mask fines were also leading to harassment by the civil defence volunteers. We plead the finance minister to incorporate provisions in budget to ensure a speedy revival of trading in Delhi,” said Nitin Gupta, president of Kamla Nagar Traders association.

In New Delhi’s Connaught Place, Atul Bhargava, who heads New Delhi Traders Association (NDTA), too said the DDMA move was long awaited. “We have been waiting for this for the last 10 days as the number of cases had come down around two weeks ago. Longer business hours are key to improving sales; we hope losses can be recovered in the next month. Now, it is our (people’s) responsibility to ensure that Covid appropriate behaviour is followed and the situation does not deteriorate,” he remarked.

The relaxations have also elicited positive responses from banquet and marriage hall operators who are expecting business to pick up soon.

Kapil Nagpal, general secretary of community welfare banquet association, said that the current marriage season will end on March 5. “There will be no marriages around Holi but the auspicious period will return on April 13 and continue in May. The government should ensure that the situation is not allowed to deteriorate,” he said.

Nagpal also sought modifications to the government’s graded response action plan (GRAP), noting that it was designed based on the Delta variant. “We are one of the first industry to suffer under this system while the third wave shows that variants will behave differently. Considering the marriage industry provides employment to such large section of traders and workers, we can’t be made the first scapegoat every time,” he said.