Covid-19: BMC plays it 2 safe, continues to keep Mumbai at Level 3

Restaurants are currently allowed to remain open till 4 pm. File pic

The city is moving fast towards fulfilling the criteria of Level 1 relaxations but even Level 2 continues to remain a distant dream. The civic body is being over-cautious about lifting the curbs. However, retailers and hoteliers are of the opinion that even if the various levels of relaxations are not implemented soon, the operation timings should be extended and they should be allowed to open shops on weekends from next week. They further demanded that the civic chief should look at the larger picture and take steps accordingly to revive the economy.

Shops in Dadar prepare to open after Level 3 relaxations were announced earlier this month. File pic

Though the city was eligible for Level 2 relaxations last week itself, BMC decided to continue with Level 3, considering that the city's population density was high and many people travel to Mumbai from the outskirts. As the city has been recording less than 1,000 Covid-19 cases for a week now and even the oxygenated bed occupancy is close to 25 per cent, it will soon be eligible for the Level 1 relaxations. However, traders say that the civic body was far from implementing it because then it would mean opening up the entire city completely.

‘Still unsure'

A senior civic official said, "We are still unsure about implementing the Level 2 relaxations from Monday but we are getting demands for it."

Viren Shah, president of the Federation of Retail Traders Welfare Association (FRTWA), said, "The commissioner should now look at a larger picture and take steps towards revival of the economy. We appreciate his cautiousness but it is a problem for businesses. We are not being able to pay salaries to staff forget about earning profits. We want them to implement Level 2 relaxations from next week onwards or Level 1 (whenever we reach there). If the BMC continues with the restrictions then it should at least plan to give us waivers or direct salaries to the staff."

People shop for monsoon gear at a Matunga store. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

Extended timings

"For restaurants, extended timings should be considered as the current ones are not helping businesses. It is only adding to the losses being incurred by restaurants due to the lockdown. In the absence of any sector-specific relief for our industry, there are serious problems of mopping up cash for working capital, employee mobilisation, maintenance of property and payment of statutory charges, which are being extracted from us mercilessly. Even banks have relegated the hospitality industry to the negative lending category list," said Sherry Bhatia, president, Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India.

Speaking to mid-day, Dr Rahul Pandit, head of the ICU in Fortis Hospital and member of the state's Covid-19 task force, said, "The unlocking should be calibrated well. Our Test Positivity Rate is low but it needs to show a steady downward trend before we lift the restrictions further."

However, Dr Gautam Bhansali, chief coordinator of all private hospitals and consultant physician at Bombay Hospital, said, "I feel we are in a much safer position right now as many beds are lying vacant. If further transmission happens after shops and restaurants are opened up, we are prepared to tackle the infection. Implementing Level 2 relaxations will help revive our economy."