The night curfew announced by the Maharashtra government could not have come at a worse time, said Anurag Katriar, President of National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI). He said that the curfew will have a significant impact on the December business of restaurants as New year’s eve & Christmas are big nights for the industry.

The Maharashtra government has declared a night curfew in the municipal corporation areas (cities) from December 22 to January 5 as a precautionary measure amid growing concerns over the new coronavirus variant spreading in Britain.

As per the state government's directive, a curfew between 11 pm and 6 am will be enforced in the financial capital till January 5, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) commissioner I S Chahal said at a press conference.

The restaurant association has requested the government to relax the curfew.

“We have spoken to them (the government), but the formal letter is going out today," said Katriar in an interview with CNBC-TV18.

“This is the peak of the festive season for trade and this night curfew could not have come at a worse possible time for us. We will have to make representations because we are already a sector which has suffered a lot over last 9-10 months. Therefore, this curfew order is going to impact our sector more than anyone else as New Year’s eve and Christmas are big nights for the industry.”

Speaking about food delivery, Katriar said, “Takeaways could be a bit of a problem because now with curfew on, you cannot step out and fetch it post 11 pm and restaurants are not supposed to operate post 11. So only deliveries will be allowed that too through the aggregators or delivery players.”

For entire interview, watch video

(Edited by : Niral Sharma)