Far from caving into the hospitality sector’s clamour to ease night curfew on New Year’s eve, the Ludhiana police on Wednesday imposed stricter restrictions on December 31, much to the disappointment of revellers who now must wrap up their celebrations before 9.30pm.
Commissioner of police Rakesh Agrawal said, “Parties and social gatherings in hotels, restaurants, clubs and marriage places will only be allowed up to 9.30pm and only within approved limits.”
Asking residents to plan their celebrations accordingly, he said, “There will be night curfew from 10pm from 5 am. People will not be allowed to drive at night unless they have a valid reason or in case of emergency.”
Interestingly, Chandigarh decided against imposing night curfew on New Year’s eve, citing a drop in the number of active and fresh cases in the Union Territory. However, given that with a strength of approximately 35 lakh, Ludhiana is Punjab’s most populous district, it remains vulnerable to infection more than any urban pocket. Being the state’s commercial hub it witnesses tremendous interstate movement, so much so that in July, Ludhiana was dubbed the state’s ‘Covid capital’ as it accounted for 22% of all cases and 29.4% of deaths reported in Punjab.
The move has garnered a mixed bag of responses with some people hailing the move in interest of public health and others deriding the police department for playing party pooper and turning a blind eye to the struggling hospitality sector.
{{/usCountry}}The move has garnered a mixed bag of responses with some people hailing the move in interest of public health and others deriding the police department for playing party pooper and turning a blind eye to the struggling hospitality sector.
{{/usCountry}}A local, Charu, who plans to head to Chandigarh to ring in the New Year in style with her husband, says , “It was a stroke of luck that we had already planned to celebrate in the UT. Had we stayed here, our plans would have been ruined.”
A Civil Lines resident, Gaurav Arora, who plans to ring in 2021 quietly with his parents, disagrees, he says, “Had the police not tightened curbs, people would have crowded streets and hotels, which may have triggered a second wave of the deadly virus. We cannot be casual about it. Earlier, on Christmas, too, people had gathered in churches and market places.”
The move has left the hotel and restaurant association fuming.
Hotel and restaurant association president Amarvir Singh said, “The government appears to be hell-bent on killing the hospitality industry in Ludhiana. The industry has already suffered heavy losses due to Covid and we were all hoping to make some recovery through New Year parties but that was not to be. Those interested in partying are going to neighbouring states with laxer restrictions. Does the virus somehow not spread in other places after 9.30pm. Why are we being singled?”
He added that they had only received just 30-35% response this year.
While New Year celebrations traditionally take place at midnight, hotel and restaurant owners in the district will be forced to shut down hotels and restaurants at 9:30pm. At many places New Year parties are being hosted in the afternoon.