Traders, restaurant owners in Delhi welcome move to lift all Covid curbs

“We welcome the DDMA’s move as restaurants were fighting for their survival,” said Suveet, owner of Ardour 2.0 at Connaught Place. He said even with the 50 per cent seating capacity and extension in timings, the restaurant industry suffered a lot: “Now, with eateries being allowed to run with full capacity, we hope business will increase by 10-20%.”

Cinema halls, meanwhile, said they observed a slight increase in numbers on Friday after the announcement. “We saw an improvement in numbers for the 3 pm show… There are three movies set to release on March 4 and several in line in the next few months. We hope to get our business back. It will take time, but we are happy,” said Raj Kumar Malhotra, who owns Delite Cinema at Delhi Gate.

According to cinema theatre owners, movie halls in Delhi faced a loss of nearly Rs 300-400 crore in the last two years due to the pandemic. “The usual annual turnout of the entire country is Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000 crore. During the pandemic, the industry has lost Rs 9,000 to 10,000 crore,” said Malhotra. There are around 56 cinema halls across the city.

Traders and markets associations of Sarojini Nagar, Lajpat Nagar, Connaught Place, Sadar Bazar, and Chandni Chowk celebrated the decision by celebrating sweets among staff and customers.

“It was very difficult to transport stock due to the night curfew…. Also, due to timing restrictions, shopkeepers had to close by 8 pm.
The extended timings will help us recover losses,” said Ashok Randhawa, President, Sarojini Nagar Mini Market Association.

Markets were operating between 10 am to 8 pm. From Monday, they can stay open till 10 pm.