On Monday, the Maharashtra government allowed the 4 lakh restaurants, bars and eatery outlets in the state to re-start operations from the first week of October. The decision came in after a meeting between industry organizations and the CM, Uddhav Thackeray according to a government statement. According to a report by Times of India, the reopening will benefit over 60 lakh direct employees and 1.8 crore indirect employees in the hospitality sector, which is one of the worst-hit by the pandemic.
The CM’s official statement on twitter read: “The state government has framed SOPs for reopening restaurants and those have been sent to the people concerned. A decision about reopening restaurants will be taken once these (SOPs) are finalised.”
Thackeray made it clear that the SOPs were meant for people’s safety and not to trouble restaurateurs. “It will be important to take care of the health of chefs and other staffers in restaurants. They must wear masks, clean hands and ensure safety and cleanliness in restaurants,” the chief minister said.
The Maharashtra government’s decision is meant to give a boost to the hospitality sector in the state which has succumbed to the severity of the pandemic for the past 6 months.
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