Salons, restaurants, barber shops cannot open: MHA clarifies

After its late night order allowing local shops to open, the Ministry of Home Affairs, in a series of tweets on Saturday, clarified that in rural areas, all shops except shopping malls will be allowed to open. In urban regions, all standalone, neighbourhood shops and shops in residential complexes will be allowed to operate.

These shops will need to open with 50 per cent workforce, and they will need to adhere strictly to safety norms like wearing masks and social distancing.

But, “shops in markets/market complexes and shopping malls are not allowed to open,” in urban regions, MHA stated. It also said that salons, restaurants and barber shops would remain closed.

The MHA has stressed that no shops are allowed to open in the hotspot or containment zones.

Wait for States’ order, says CAIT

Industry executives are now awaiting guidelines and permissions from State governments.

Praveen Khandelwal, Secretary General, Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), said, “Now the State governments have to take decision in this regard, and accordingly, the shops can be open.”

CAIT has also appealed to traders across the country to not open their shops in their “extreme enthusiasm” and await the order of respective State government.

In a statement, Retailers Association of India (RAI) said, “We feel the current circular is open to interpretation and needs more clarity for easier implementation - terms like market complexes are not easily understood. We at RAI are willing to work with the Government to make this process of opening retail easier without compromising on social distancing norms.”

“Keeping in mind the current environment and lessons learnt by opening up of essential retail through the lockout, we would recommend that the Government to open up all channels of retail on a date that it feels safe with the social distancing norms clearly defined. Local authorities can ensure strict implementation and action,” RAI stated while adding that malls should also be allowed to open.

E-commerce can support MSMEs

MHA has also said that e-commerce companies will only be permitted to sell “essential goods”.

A spokesperson for Flipkart said that the “gradual opening up of delivery of non-essential goods through e-commerce will help meet consumer needs, which include items that will enable them to work from home, stay in touch with others and also address the rising temperature across the country. E-commerce can help meet these requirements in a safe and secure way, while ensuring social distancing and allowing the Government in continuing their efforts to contain this situation."

The company also said that “e-commerce can also support in easing the burden of piled up inventory of MSMEs and help in the delivery of these products to consumers in a safe and secure way while following the robust safety SOPs.”

At the same time, the spokesperson said that the company welcomes the government's decision of providing gradual relaxations in retail.

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