Hotel owners across Karnataka will continue offering takeaway and delivery services for the next three days. They will wait for the government to decide on whether they will be allowed to welcome patrons to dine in.
The hotel owners’ association had earlier threatened to shut down delivery services from Tuesday onwards after they were excluded from the list of businesses and services that could operate.
Office-bearers of Karnataka Pradesh Hotels and Restaurants Association met Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa on Tuesday morning to argue their case. Restaurant owners said that takeaways account for only 5-10% of their business. “We told the Chief Minister that we will not be able to run our hotels if the State government does not give us permission to allow customers to dine in,” said Madhukar Shetty, general secretary of the association.
The Chief Minister is believed to have requested them to wait for three days so that the government can consult with the Centre.
Hotel managements assured Mr. Yediyurappa that they would take all the necessary precautions. “Many of the roadside eateries have started catering to customers, but hotels and restaurants that have chalked out social distancing norms are not allowed to commence [operations],” said another member of the association.
