THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Reeling under the impact of Covid, Kerala Hotel and Restaurants Association (KHRA) has reached out to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to intervene in solving the crisis. Due to mounting losses, many hoteliers are on the verge of ending their life, the association said.
“As the government is yet to allow dining in hotels and restaurants, many small-scale hoteliers are staring at a bleak future. Banks are also not ready to provide relief in repayment of EMI. With a series of suicides happening in the state, we fear many hoteliers would take a similar route,” said G Jayapal, general secretary, KHRA.
The members have demanded normal functioning of hotels should be allowed by following Covid protocols. “We have been waiting for three months. Almost 10,000 hotels have wound up operations in the past few months. Amid all these crises, the officials are not letting the hoteliers deliver food in areas under triple lockdown. It’s high time to do away with these unscientific restrictions,” Jayapal said.
KHRA also requested the CM to allocate interest-free loans for the hoteliers to survive in the coming months. “The government should step in to support us. Lakhs of labourers and their families are dependent on us. We have requested the CM to allocate either interest-free or small interest loans to survive through the crises,” he added.