Hotels, restaurants, weekly markets allowed to reopen in Delhi

In a major relief for the hospitality industry in the National Capital Region, the Lieutenant Governor of National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi has allowed opening of hotels and restaurants in the national capital.

“Opening of the two biggest segments of the tourism industry, hotels and restaurants, in the country’s capital is a positive move that will help push domestic travel and give much relief to the industry which has been reading itself with all health and safety protocols,” said Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Culture and Tourism, Prahlad Singh Patel.

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) chaired by Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on Wednesday decided to open hotels along with weekly markets on a trial basis. However, gyms in Delhi will remain closed.

‘Getting economy back on track’

“The corona situation in Delhi is better. Now, the economy of Delhi has to be brought back on track. For this, we had already proposed opening all the hotels in Delhi, which was rejected by the Central government. We again requested the Centre, and we are happy that now the proposal of the Delhi government has been approved. Now, all hotels in Delhi will be opened,” said Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Earlier, the proposal of the Delhi government to reopen hotels was rejected. However, on August 6, the Delhi government sent a fresh proposal to the Lieutenant Governor seeking his permission to allow hotels, gymnasiums and weekly markets to reopen in the national capital.

“We welcome the move of the government to reopen hotels in Delhi. This decision will enable the revival of the industry and help sustain the livelihood of many employees affected by the lockdown. We look forward to resuming operations as per the new norms and with strict hygiene and sanitisation protocols,” said Jyotsna Suri, Executive Committee Member, Hotel Association of India.

Shwetank Singh, Vice-President - Development and Asset Management, InterGlobe Hotels, said the hotels in the region had been under immense stress for the longest time, even though ones in other parts of the country were beginning to reopen and move towards normalcy. Now, with hotels reopening, the hoteliers can work out their strategies and work towards revival, he added.