The fresh slew of 'Break the Chain' restrictions imposed in Maharashtra from 8:00 pm on Monday is essentially another full lockdown, say impacted businesses in Mumbai. The new restrictions require malls, restaurants, cinema halls, street food vendors, and all non-essential stores to be shut until April 30.

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The Retailers Association of India, which has raised concerns over the restrictions calling a ‘Retail Lockdown’, says that of the roughly 30 million people employed in the industry across the country, Maharashtra alone employs 5 million, who will now be out of a job for the rest of the month.

"They're not calling it one, but it’s essentially a lockdown. At this juncture, retailers will not be able to pay ages anymore. No one has money left with them and we’re talking about nearly 1.2 million stores in the state. These restrictions will land us into trouble," Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, Retailers Association of India (RAI) told CNBC-TV18.

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With malls being shut, mall owners too are a worried lot. Mukesh Kumar, CEO of Infiniti Malls and chairman of Shopping Centres Association of India says this is a double whammy for the industry that was already impacted due to the mandatory testing norms and now he’s not sure how many businesses will be able to survive another shut down.

"The mandatory RT-PCR testing had already taken a huge toll on footfalls in the last two weeks as customers were not very confident of coming to malls and with this, the impact will be huge. We understand that restrictions are needed in the light of rises COVID cases, but we expected the duration to be shorter," Kumar added.

The restaurant industry too has expressed concern. Anurag Katriar, President of the National Restaurant Association of India tweeted on Sunday against the restrictions saying that they are ‘Staring at death’.

We were shut for most part of last year. We have been operating at 50% & restricted hours since then. We somehow survived so far but now we can't.

Dear Govt, we r staring death and need some urgent oxygen. Either allow us to operate normal hours with safeguards & protocols 3/4— Anurag Katriar (@KingKatriar) April 4, 2021

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Katriar said the restrictions in the state have singled out restaurants and that the industry is staring at complete decimation.

"It is very unfortunate to see the rise in COVID cases and its impact on people as well as industries across Maharashtra. With the new local restrictions in place, travel in the state is going to be adversely impacted and will affect the hospitality industry which is heavily dented due to the pandemic," KB. Kachru, vice president, Hotel Association of India & Chairman Emeritus & Principal Advisor, South Asia, Radisson Hotel Group said.

Also read: Maharashtra lockdown: NBFCs write to state govt, seek partial opening to continue services

Another major concern for these industries is now being able to pay salaries, especially of the workers who travelled back from their villages in hope of employment again.

"Businesses invested money in bringing back workers from their villages to employ them just as business was picking up and people were being taken back into the job. It will be extremely difficult for these workers to now go back and there is no certainty that they will return if they go back home," Kumar added.

Apart from malls and restaurants, small store owners and vendors also stand to be impacted by the restrictions. Prashant Lakshmikant Dhotkar, a street food vendor in Andheri West in Mumbai said the situation has caused him and vendors around him immense distress as this would have a large financial impact on them.

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"We already saw the business go down drastically. Even now we only get 10 percent of the customers we used to see before the pandemic. This is like a complete lockdown and we are worried about our livelihood. The government should fasten the vaccination process so that there are lesser cases," he said.

Another vendor in Andheri selling footwear said that this situation puts their livelihood into question and going back to their village isn’t an option either. "There is nothing for us back home either. Now if I have to shut my store for an entire month, and after that it might even get extended like last year, how will we eat? What will be survive on?" he added.

The Confederation of All India Traders too wrote to chief minister Uddhav Thackeray seeking clarity over the restrictions, saying that about 25 lakh traders in the state are worried and said that the "Break the Chain" COVID Norms will "Break the back" of Maharashtra’s small traders. CAIT has suggested that the state government reduce store timings instead of a full lockdown. ​

"Such closure will hit badly the economy. We propose that instead of closure of shops it is requested that shop timings may be reduced to 11:00 am to 5:00 pm and in cooperation​ with trade associations, effective measures should be taken to ensure that COVID safety protocols are fully observed by one and all," BC Bhartia, national president of CAIT wrote in the letter.

Also read: Maharashtra COVID restrictions: Shops, markets, malls to remain closed; groceries, chemists open

Meanwhile, the industry and small vendors also say that while restrictions are required amidst surging COVID cases, the government not only needs to expedite vaccination, but also needs to extend support to impacted industries.

The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI) has asked the state government to support the hospitality industry by unburdening business owners of property tax, waiving off the statutory fees, among others.

"Shut us but do justice to the owners, staff and their families. Take care of the salaries. Unburden the owners of the property tax, waive off the statutory fees, don't generate electricity and water bills until the industry becomes completely operational again. We understand that the Govt has to take measures but it's coming at a cost that we just can't bear anymore. We have always stood with the Govt and it's about time the Govt does the same for us," Pradeep Shetty, senior vice president, HRAWI said in a statement.

(Edited by : Aditi Gautam, Jomy)

First Published:Apr 5, 2021 6:42 PM IST