Hotel business halved in Corona's third wave: 24 lakh people lost jobs so far

Amid the third wave of Corona, restaurant owners across the country are seeing a difficult road ahead. The new restrictions imposed due to Covid-19 have once again derailed their business. Most of the restaurant owners have put their expansion plans on hold due to this uncertainty and sought relief to make up for the shortfall in business. Restaurant operators say that restaurants in all metros of the country were already running at half the capacity as per government guidelines. If the current restrictions on operating hours and capacity remain in place, they will have to make difficult decisions like laying off their workers. Whereas since the beginning of this month, the business has come down by 40 percent from normal.

25 percent of the traders closed their business

People associated with the National Restaurant Association of India told Amar Ujala that their business is being directly hit by the instructions of the government. This industry has been incurring losses continuously for almost three years. We follow all the rules, but still, we are facing the brunt. Packing and delivery is currently a minor part of the business and it is not even suitable for our business. Many people had to close their businesses and outlets during the first wave. With the closure of the outlets, their business was reduced, so hopefully, we will not lose our employees now. After both the corona wave everyone is operating on the low-cost model, but there is a limit for us to bear the loss.

24 lakh employees lost their jobs

Terming the order of the government as arbitrary, some members associated with the association say that we are following the orders of those who have the right to take these decisions. According to the association's report, after the first two waves of the epidemic, about 25 percent of food business entrepreneurs completely closed their businesses. The employment of 24 lakh people has been lost. The size of India's food market declined to Rs 2,00,762 crore in FY21 from Rs 4,23,624 crore in FY20. According to the Restaurant Association, if immediate relief measures are not taken, then this sector will be permanently weakened.

Business down 60 percent

Restaurant owners in other cities are also upset with these restrictions. The Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) says that the government and the media have created psychopathy. Instead of advising people to be cautious and not to worry, a long list of what not to do has been prepared. As a result, people are not coming out. All the restaurants are deserted. In these, the arrival of people has come down to only 15 percent, which was up to 80 percent earlier. The business started to improve after the second wave. It got better than before due to the festive season. But now the business has come down to 60 percent. Whereas since the beginning of this month the business has come down by 40 percent from normal.