Mumbai restaurants hopeful that government will lift restrictions soon – Times of India

Mumbai restaurateurs have a reason to smile, finally. Late last night, the CM’s meeting with the disaster management cell, headed by Dr Sanjay Oak, the state task force, reportedly said that they had no objections to extending the dine-in timings of the hotels and restaurants in the city.
The F&B industry had been suffering massive losses during the pandemic because of the Covid-related restrictions. BMC’s (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) new unlock guidelines for Mumbai, announced last week, had come as a huge blow for the hospitality industry with no relaxations for them in the 4 pm deadline.
But now finally, after last night’s meeting, there is a glimmer of hope for them. The state government might soon ease the Covid-related curbs on hotels and restaurants in the city.
“We would like to thank the State Task Force headed by Dr Sanjay Oak for recommending the easing of restrictions on restaurants. In our last week’s meeting, the Hon’ble Chief Minister had assured the industry that he would personally discuss the subject with the State COVID Task Force and arrive at a decision soon. This is a big relief for hotels and restaurants across Mumbai which have seen the worst side of the pandemic. We now await the formal announcement from the Government to go back to re-opening our businesses,” said Sherry Bhatia, President, Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI).
Talking to us about it, Riyaaz Amlani, restaurateur said, “In our meeting on Friday the CM said that he would be notifying us after his meeting with the COVID-19 task force, I believe they did meet last night where easing of restrictions was discussed, from what I understand they are considering the safety SOPs and we are desperately hoping they will lift restrictions soon.”
Gurbaxish Singh Kohli, Vice President of the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI), and spokesperson of HRAWI, is pleased. He said, “We are looking forward to the final order.”
Once the SOPs are finalised the state government will issue the order.