Thane hoteliers to hold silent protest demanding extension in operation hours

Thane hotel association members said the district administration was depriving them of their right to earn a livelihood.

Thane’s hoteliers will hold a silent march on Thursday to protest district administration’s decision not to extend their operating hours beyond 4pm in the revised guidelines, issued on Wednesday, following Maharashtra government’s decision to relax Covid containment restrictions in several districts of the state and allow local authorities in Mumbai and Thane districts to decide the extent of relaxations there.

Thane hoteliers said they would rather operate between 6pm and midnight , which was their peak business hour. (HT PHOTO)

Thane Municipal Corporation extended hours of operation for shops from earlier closing time of 4pm to 10pm but no extension was given to hotels.

“We hardly do 10% business during the daytime; it is only after office timings or post shopping that people approach hotels. We do not mind if we are allowed to remain open from 6pm till midnight only as it is our peak business period, and we would like to remain open in the evening time. Due to the 50% seating capacity rule, even in the evening or night, hardly 40% of the earlier crowd will visit hotels or opt for take away,” said Raghunath Rai, secretary, Hotels Association of Thane.

He was referring to the fact that apart from restrictions on timings, hotels and restaurants are also not allowed to entertain more than 50% of their total capacity to accommodate guests.

The association members said the district administration was depriving them of their right to earn a livelihood. They said they were following all government norms related to tax, bills, wages and rents but were not allowed to function during prime business hours.

A protest for similar reasons was held on Wednesday in Pune by traders, including restaurant and hotel owners, against the state government’s decision not to offer any relaxations to 11 districts in the state including Pune, owing to their higher test positivity rate.