All restaurants, bars and hotels are currently working until the 10 p.m. deadline

Mumbai: The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI), a leading association of premium restaurants and star hotels, has once again contacted Prime Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Chief Secretary Sitaram Kunte and Tourism Minister Aditya Thackeray to extend the opening hours in the state.
Currently all restaurants, bars and hotels work until 10:00 p.m. the earlier deadline was 1.30 a.m. The association has recommended that the old times be restored every day of the week according to the license of the establishments. It has asked for relaxation on the condition that restaurant staff be fully vaccinated.
After October 2020, restaurants in Maharashtra were allowed to have 50% occupancy with restricted hours. However, the second wave resulted in another lockdown before the curbs were gradually loosened to some extent.
“Rent and salary expenses, debt servicing, negative cash flows and legal payment obligations have made running a hotel or restaurant an unsustainable business in the current situation. However, things are looking up for the state as around five million residents have received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine and the number of new cases is falling, “said Sherry Bhatia, President of HRAWI.
“We call on the government to take immediate action to restore economic activity in the state and help citizens overcome the enormous financial losses they have suffered. For restaurants, the reduced opening hours from 7 am to 10 pm are simply not practical, ”said Bhatia.
The hospitality industry is among those hardest hit as a result of the pandemic. To date, 30% of the country’s hotels and restaurants have closed permanently due to losses. Over 20% are still not fully open and the rest have losses with revenues below 50% of pre-Covid-19 levels.
“We recommend that the government allow hotels and restaurants to return to pre-pandemic times during the week. This will also encourage the gradual emergence from the public. We are sure this would help Maharashtra to overcome the economic turmoil caused by the pandemic, “said Pradeep Shetty, Senior Vice President, HRAWI.

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