Hoteliers Beware: Govt. to form flying squad to inspect overcrowding in the Hotels & Restaurants
In the wake of the rapidly rising cases of Covid-19, the state government has announced a ban on all political and religious events where crowds are expected. At the same time, the government has indicated that if the situation worsens, there could be a lockdown in Maharashtra. Similarly the government is trying to ensure that hoteliers also should follow the government norms and avoid large gatherings.
Due to current speculations, the hotel industry is facing numerous cancellations. Scores of conferences and group bookings are cancelled and have seen sharp decline in the bookings. In a period of next two weeks many companies are skeptical to hold any events; many room bookings have also been cancelled. There is a sharp decline in room, conferences and banquet bookings.
The government and municipal authorities in Mumbai and other parts of the state are contemplating forming a special flying squad to check hotels, restaurants, clubs and banquet halls to strictly adhere to government norms. The BMC and DM and Collectororate of Mumbai and suburban have observed that many hotels are not adhering to the prescribed government guidelines. Many of the hotels, restaurants, clubs and banquet venues are allowing large parties and not following social distancing rules.
Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray, Maharashtra Chief Minister warned, “If Covid-related norms are not followed, the state government will be forced to re-impose a lockdown, People have become carefree. It is for the people to decide if they want a lockdown or want to continue living with the small restrictions like now,” said Thackeray, while directing local administrations to crack down on citizens and establishments that are found violating Covid-19 norms and standard operating procedures (SOPs).
A senior official from BMC on the condition of anonymity said “On our surprise visit to few hotels, we saw clear cut violations of government norms. They are allowing large gatherings in various functions without following social distancing norms. Even on the buffet counters, food is displayed side by side instead of keeping away from one another. If food dishes are kept closer to each other, more people tend to touch each other, which is a real cause of concern”.
A senior officer from Collector office said “There are many big brands of hotels adhering to government norms but few are still ignorant. In our surprise inspection, we observed that some are not checking the temperature of guests while they enter the hotel premises. If someone has a high temperature that could be a sign of Covid19, if these types of guests are not permitted to enter the hotels, it can save many people from contacting Covid19. We are not against any hotels but few hoteliers consider themselves to be very big, so we just want to make them understand that they are not above the law. Recently we have taken actions on a few hotels who flouted the rules. We would ensure that each and every hotel followed the proper procedure laid down by the government”.
A General Manager of the leading luxury hotel on the condition of anonymity said “We are following all the rules laid down by the government and will do it all time. We are following zero tolerance policy and ensuring proper social distancing norms”.
Another general manager of the hotel on the condition of anonymity said “The hotels have become an easy target for the governments to implement rules. Every day in the name of inspection some people enter the hotels and so you are not following government and rules and ask us to offer free meals. We are with the government and strictly adhering to all rules and regulations. We are strictly using face masks, face shields, hand gloves sanitizers and what not. Why the government is not taking any actions on BEST buses and railways, as they are running full of their capacity. One can see that all the buses are flooded with passengers and that too without masks.
It may be noted that In view of the increasing cases of coronavirus in Mumbai, 1355 buildings have been sealed and many more are identified to be sealed too. In addition, if there are more than 5 patients in any building, there is a provision to seal it as a precautionary measure.
Cases of coronavirus are on the rise again in many cities of Maharashtra. In view of this, schools and colleges in Pune have been closed till February 28. The lockdowns have been announced in Yavatmal, Amravati and Achalpur. The movement of traffic has also been banned in Pune and Nashik from 11 pm to 6 am.
Complete lockdown has been imposed in Amravati and Achalpur of Maharashtra, which will
be applicable today (February 22) from 8 pm to 8 am till March 1. There will be a complete lockdown in Yavatmal, Akola and Akot today i.e. February 22nd from 6 am to 6 am till March However, emergency services will continue in these districts.
In the last 10 days in Maharashtra, new cases of coronavirus have increased rapidly and about 47 thousand new cases have come to light. In Maharashtra, 6791 cases were reported on Sunday, February 21. For the third day in a row; more than 6000 new cases of Kovid-19 were registered in the state. On Sunday, 921 new cases were reported in Mumbai, 666 in Amravati, 640 in Pune, 599 in Nagpur, 291 in Pimpri Chinchwad and 103 in Aurangabad city.
Editor in Chief : Mewati SItara
