Cuttack: COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns have a dealt a severe blow to the catering business here. Literally struggling to survive, owners have requested the government to help them in sustaining themselves.
Food catering services used to thrive in Cuttack with orders to supply food at marriages and other rituals such as thread ceremonies.
Now, the fresh COVID guidelines continuing the ceiling of 25 guests at weddings and 20 at funerals and thread ceremonies will continue has come as a further setback to those in the catering business.
The owners say the cost factor of preparing food for 25 people does not work out as they cannot pay salary to their workers.
They have demanded the government to allow at least 100 people in a marriage ceremony.
“We request the state government not to do injustice with us. They should allow at least 100 people and we will supply food with all the Corona guidelines. People who are working with us are struggling to survive. How can we help them for such a long time?” said Nagen Samal, a catering service owner.
Despite the huge loss they have faced, members of the Cuttack Catering Association have been doing a yeoman’s service by distributing free cooked food to hundreds of patients and their relatives in different hospitals every weekend.
“I have been staying in the hospital premises for the past eight days and have never gone without food even once. The Food Catering Service Association is giving us quality food,” said Kaberi Mallick, a patient’s relative.
Following the state government’s guidelines for August, malls, cinema halls, operas, Jatra, and open-air theatre reopened with half their audience capacity. Restaurants, bars, and dhabas also resumed business with 50 per cent seating capacity.
“The government should allow us to organise ceremonies with 50 per cent capacity in hotels and at Mandaps. We are now helpless. We cannot help our employees too,” said Cuttack Catering Association Secretary Raghunath Patra.
The association members have threatened to protest against this decision of the government.
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