‘Starved of business’, food service sector seeks relaxation of curfew

Police shut flyovers, seal entry and exit points of the city to enforce night curfew

With the police virtually barricading the city on Saturday to enforce night curfew, the Bruhat Bangalore Hotels’ Association (BBHA) and National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) sought a relaxation in the timings. The two associations, which together represent thousands of businesses in the food service sector, submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa urging the government to push curfew timing to 11 p.m. from 10 p.m.. They also requested the government to allow food delivery till midnight. They claimed that the curfew was placing tremendous stress on the already struggling sector. “Most of us have been unable to service liabilities and payments that decimated our industry with the lockdown of 2020, and the effective curbs on our operating hours starting April 10 will expose us to further catastrophic losses,” stated the memorandum They pointed out that with the 10 p.m. curfew, they would have to cease operations by 9 p.m. It will eliminate the largest chunk of revenue that is generated between both dine-in and delivery, they said.