Mumbai restaurants likely to open in early Oct, SOPs being finalised

Photo used for representational purpose. Pic: AFP

Restaurants in Mumbai and rest of Maharashtra are likely to reopen in early October and a standard operating procedure (SOP) is being finalised for the next phase of unlocking. Sources in the government and hoteliers association representatives said the business is likely to restart in the first or second week of October.

After Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's virtual meeting with the restaurant association members on Monday, the CMO said the unlocking SOPs has been prepared but not finalised yet.

"The SOP document has been shared with all stakeholders. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has said that the decision about reopening the restaurants will be taken after the SOP gets finalised," read the statement, quoting the CM as saying, "The SOP is not an attempt to trouble you but to ensure that safety of all, including the customers and the workforce. We have to be very careful and responsible for restarting things."

Thackeray also told all stakeholders to work together on finalising the SOP. "The implementation of SOP, cleanliness and social distancing will be a recipe for your restaurants," he reportedly told hoteliers from Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad, Nagpur and many other cities.

A CMO official said Thackeray asked hoteliers to share their suggestions with the state authorities. "The sentiment was that the business should restart as early as possible - if not in the first week of October then at least should have all necessary permissions and SOPs in place at least in the second week of October," said the official, adding that the hoteliers have kept this demand because of the economic duress they are going through during the lockdown.

Currently, the eateries are allowed to run the kitchens for takeaway service. The hotels with attached restaurants are allowed to serve only the in-house guests.

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