GB Nagar restaurateurs stare at losses after home deliveries banned during night curfew

Following the murder of a Greater Noida restaurant owner, the Gautam Budh Nagar police late on Wednesday night issued an order banning deliveries and takeaways during the night curfew hours between 10pm and 6am

Following the murder of a Greater Noida restaurant owner, the Gautam Budh Nagar police late on Wednesday night issued an order banning deliveries and takeaways during the night curfew hours between 10pm and 6am. The move, restauranteurs said, would affect their business that is just recovering from the impact of Covid-19.

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Thirty-eight-year-old Sunil Agarwal was shot dead outside his restaurant around midnight allegedly while attempting to solve an issue between his staff and delivery agents associated with an online food delivery service. Police said that they had arrested three suspects in the case and added that they were not linked to either the restaurant or the delivery agents.

The Uttar Pradesh government imposed the night curfew in the state from April 15 when the second wave of Covid-19 infections gripped the country. It did not specify whether eateries were allowed to deliver food either by themselves or through online delivery partners during that time unlike last year when, during the first wave in March, these were considered “essential” along with state and health services.

“During night curfew, all types of services are completely banned across the state except health related, emergency or essential services. There will also be a ban on take home services from eateries during night curfew,” read an official statement from the Gautam Budh Nagar Police Commissionerate on Wednesday night.

Police commissioner Alok Singh said home deliveries were considered as “essential services” only during the first wave last year when restaurants and hotels were not allowed to open for dine-in customers.

“Now that restaurants and hotels are open through the day, food deliveries will not be considered essential services during the night curfew,” he said.

Restaurateurs say their revenues will be affected by the decision.

“Since the lockdown in 2020, food deliveries were considered essential. All through the Covid curfew this year too, food deliveries have been going on without a hitch and became the only source of income for restaurants in the district. Almost 70% of the home delivery orders come after 8-9 pm and go on till 11pm to 1 am. If this is taken away from us, we will not be able to survive,” said Varun Khera, President of National Restaurants Association of India (Noida Chapter).

Devendra Awana, owner of Swagath restaurant in Sector 104 said that he was barely able to break even and pay his employees these days.

“Although our restaurant is known for our dine-in service, we began to deliver more after the Covid pandemic and now it has become a major source of our revenue. There are barely any lunch orders and home deliveries during dinner time, which starts at 9pm and goes on till midnight, sustained us. If this is also taken away from us, we may have to shut down,” he said.

Some residents say that the time restrictions on home deliveries of food do not gel with lifestyle of people living in the city.

“All of my friends in Noida also work in the corporate and IT sector and none of us eat dinner before 10 pm. Moreover, after working all day, we do not have the energy to cook food and hence ordering take out late night has become a part of our lifestyle,” said Prakhar Mathur, a resident of Sector 77.

Mohit Bhardwaj, owner of Asian Empire restaurant in Sector 76 said that his regular customers comprise of those working in corporate and IT sector who order food late into the night till about 1 am.

“The lifestyle of those in corporate and IT sector is such that they have their dinner only after 11 pm and some who work at night shifts also order food from us at 1 am. If we shut out operations at 10 pm, that means we cannot take any order after 9-9.15 pm. In Sector 76 alone, there are at least 10 more such eateries like ours who have at least a hundred customers in nearby high rises and this move will affect them all,” he said.

Khera said that he will take up the matter with the police officials on behalf of the restaurateurs in GB Nagar.