Restaurants owners in Bengaluru urge govt to reconsider timings of night curfew

Owners of different restaurants in Bengaluru on Saturday urged the state government to reconsider the timing of the night curfew that will come into effect from April 10.

"For the last few months, it is only in the evening that we find some people coming in. For the 10 pm curfew, we will have to shut down our restaurants by 9:30 pm. We will make a representation to the CM to request him to reconsider the timing," Mukesh Tol, a restaurant owner said.

"We urge the government to reconsider timing and maybe push it to 11 pm so that we can do some business," he added.

"The current situation is people come out for lunch or dinner either in the evening or by 9 pm, now with this 10 pm curfew, how anyone would step out at 9 pm for dinner. No one would consider going out at 8 pm or 9 pm when the curfew is starting from 10 pm," said a customer who came to the restaurant.

The Karnataka government on Thursday imposed a night curfew in seven districts of the state from Saturday between 10 pm and 5 am to contain the spread of the COVID-19.

The curfew, which will remain in place till April 20, was enforced in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mangaluru, Kalaburagi, Bidar, Tumkur, and Udupi. Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said that essential services will be exempted from the curfew.

The retail outlets of the wholesale fruit and vegetable market in the state will also not function from April 10.

The government has prohibited gatherings for fairs, festivals, religious and social events. It said that penalty will be imposed against those who do not wear masks and maintain physical distancing.

( With inputs from ANI )