The owners of restaurants, bars and hotels across Maharashtra have decided to hold a silent protest march on August 10 as a last resort if the state does not restore their operation timings to their original, at least 10 pm.

The owners of restaurants, bars and hotels across Maharashtra have decided to hold a silent protest march on August 10 as a last resort if the state does not restore their operation timings to their original, at least 10 pm.

The resolution came in at the joint meeting of all the hotel associations and their apex bodies in the state. The hospitality industry has already expressed grave disappointment over alleged discrimination by the authorities in not allowing hotels to operate beyond 4 pm even as all other outlets can now function till 10 pm.

They have contended that in settings as diverse as roadside eateries and aircraft cabins, people were being allowed to remove masks for longer periods while eating. They said there was no evidence of restaurants causing more Covid-19 spread than other businesses. In fact, they also see a larger conspiracy to promote food delivery aggregators.

"The number of shops in the city of Mumbai would be at least 10 times more than the number of restaurants. We fail to understand how curtailing the timings of a restaurant while not curtailing any other business activities can be justified for the purposes of prevention or mitigation of the pandemic. In fact, the public interface at other outlets is far more than in restaurants. Also, there is no scientific data to point out that restaurant business jeopardises public health and is thus required to be restricted continuously," HRAWI senior vice president Pradeep Shetty had stated in letters sent to the municipal commissioner as well as chief secretary

AHAR president Shivanand Shetty said initially they will hold a press conference to address the media on discrimination and the state of the industry besides spreading awareness through social media before resorting to the protest march.