Bengaluru traders say that curfew is likely to hit business hard

Picture used for representational purpose only

Bengaluru: Representatives of business and industries said that the Corona curfew imposed on Saturday will only harm instead of preventing the spread of the disease. The curfew comes at a time when the industries were just about to recover from the lockdown losses.

Shopping malls, standalone outlets and supermarkets will be greatly affected due to the night curfew. They are worried about missing out on Ugadi shopping over the weekend.

Retailers told that they will have to shut the shops before 8 pm so that the employees reach home before the curfew time starts. Uday Garudahar, owner of Garuda Mall and BJP MLA said, “Shops will miss out on the peak business hour. While it’s an inevitable step to create awareness, I hope the curfew will not continue beyond ten days.”

According to the experts, measures like night curfew will be counter-productive and also told that extension of business hours will be more effective.

Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, Retailers Association of India, said, “There’s a possibility of crowds before the curfew. The best thing the government can do is extend business hours late into the night with proper SOPs to restrict the number of people at a time. This will ensure fewer crowds as well as continuity of business.”

Dr. Sudarshan Ballal, Chairman, Manipal Hospitals, stated, “the night curfew at best may serve as a warning against the pandemic. What we need is avoiding congregation of people and crowding at market places and other areas.”

Restaurants, pubs and cinema halls are concerned about the negative impact of the curfew. PC Rao, President, Bruhat Bengaluru Hotels Association, said, “The peak business for restaurants and pubs starts at 8:30 pm. With this night curfew, hotels need to close before 8 pm and it’s as good as shutting shop for the whole day given few footfalls during the day.”

Even though the government has permitted the industries to continue with the night shifts with the rider that employees must reach the workplace before the curfew starts, the industries are still confused about it.

TR Parasurama, President, Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce, said, “How can employees working in the second shift reach home as work ends around 10 pm? The worry is that the situation may lead to employees staying away from work and industries suffering from labour shortage.”