ADAPTING TO THE NEW NORMAL

With Delhi likely to decide on the opening of restaurants and malls after June 8, managements have started preparing their own SOPS

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We are ready to open restaurants as owners are suffering huge losses. We will follow social distancing and other preventive measures. Restaurants will operate at reduced seating capacity of 30% to 50%.

and all crockery and cutlery will be sanitised.

Visitors will be given sanitised copies of the menu card. They will also have an option of checking the menu on their phones and place orders from their phones while seated inside the restaurant.

He said that the digital mode of payment will be encouraged by restaurants.

Sunil Malhotra, of Embassy Restaurant in Connaught Place, said, “It is not yet clear when the government will allow us to open. But when the nod comes, we will follow all guidelines issued by the central and state government.”

Sandeep Khandelwal, president, Delhi Hotel and Restaurants Owners Association, said, “Nearly 50% of the workforce has returned to their home towns and so we will have to operate with fewer staff members. We want that the government to consult us before taking a call on the opening.”

Over 40 mall owners on Saturday convened a meeting with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)

MANPREET SINGH, treasurer NRAI trade wing and appealed to the government to allow the opening of malls.

Brijesh Goel, AAP’S Delhi trade wing convener, said there are nearly 100 malls and shopping centres in the city.

“The government gets about ₹3 -10 crore revenue a month from each mall. Due to the closure of malls, the government is losing about ₹500 crore a month.

A decision regarding the opening of malls is likely to be taken next week,” Goel said.

Harshvardhan Bansal, the owner of the Unity Mall Group, said closure of malls has caused a job crisis for 10,000-odd employees.

“We will have separate entry and exit points in every mall and all employees will be required to wear face shields and masks.