On Day 1, city’s restaurants start slow, BEST buses full
MUMBAI: Lockdown restrictions imposed in Mumbai since April were eased from Monday as authorities allowed reopening of all shops, restaurants, private offices and manufacturing units, but within a 4pm deadline. On day one of the “level-three” unlock in the city after two months of a lockdown forced by the second Covid-19 wave, only 20% of the city’s restaurants reopened, while almost all private offices asked its employees to work from home. Buses were packed throughout the day as local trains were not open to all.
Long queues of passengers for Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) buses were witnessed, coupled with heavy traffic on roads. Most retailers dealing in non-essential items did open their shops, followed by gymnasiums and salons. Public transport, barring trains, witnessed an increase in the number of passengers. Under the state government’s “Break-the-chain” order for Mumbai, buses are allowed to operate with no standing passengers. A total of 3,344 BEST services were operated on Monday. BEST saw at least 20% more passengers on Monday. “The exact increase in passengers will be known only on Tuesday. However, there has been a significant increase in passengers (20%). People were also seen forming queues outside bus stops.” said a senior BEST official. No standing passengers are allowed to travel in BEST buses.
Autorickshaws and taxis also witnessed an increase in passengers, however, few autorickshaw and taxi drivers were confused in regards to the number of passengers allowed to travel.
Most private establishments asked their employees to continue working on a work-fromhome basis. Archie Vora, a digital marketer, said, “Only 50% staff can work till 4pm as per the fresh guidelines. It makes no sense to go to the office and leave after 4pm, especially since there are no local trains. Hence, our office has asked us to work from home till further notice to ensure manpower can be fully used.” In case of restaurants, only 20%, according to officials, opened their shutters. The government has mandated that restaurants should operate at 50% of its capacity and till 4pm only. “Majority of the restaurants have their main businesses running only after 7pm and hence saw no point in opening them as they will need to shut by 4pm. In addition, many did not open as they did not have enough staff,” said Shivanand Shetty, president, Indian Hotels and Restaurant Association (AHAR),
Meanwhile, salons across the city saw brisk business even as many owners insisted on prior appointments rather than walkins. They are mandated to operate at 50% capacity and close at 4pm. Gymnasium owners across the city are fuming owing to the restrictions imposed by the state over not allowing the use of air conditioners (AC). Rohan Salian, a gym trainer, said, “Not using AC in a gym is difficult, considering many gyms are not well ventilated. Also, there are no restrictions on restaurants over the usage of AC, so why on gyms?”
(inputs by Mehul R Thakkar, Naresh Kamath & Aroosa Ahmed)