BHUBANESWAR: Takeaways and food delivery services which continued even in the midst of a raging pandemic have been stopped beyond 9 pm in the Capital, leaving people dependent on it at great inconvenience.
Senior citizens who live without their children as well as bachelors are primarily dependent on food delivery services through aggregators like Zomato and Swiggy.
However, restriction on timing of the service till 9 pm after night curfew was enhanced by an hour due to Omicron surge has emerged as a cause of concern for them. "Even if a food delivery application accepts order after 8.30 pm, the delivery boys cancel it possibly due to the fear of being harassed by the police on the road," said Sasmita Paikray, a communication consultant.
Shibashrita Priyadarshini, a media professional, echoed similar sentiments and said many people cannot cook at home due to their working hours and depend on food delivery applications. The restriction has also impacted restaurant and eatery owners in the city who are suffering losses.
The Restaurants Association of Odisha, a body of 100 branded outlets across the State, had earlier written to the Special Relief Commissioner requesting to allow takeaways beyond 9 pm but to no avail.
Interestingly, the guidelines do not make any mention on takeaways. However, enforcement authorities are not allowing takeaways beyond 9 pm as they suspect criminal elements may take advantage of it during the night curfew by posing as food delivery boys.
"Most restaurants in the Capital are multi-cuisine and conduct their business during nights. We are suffering a loss of over 70 per cent every day as takeaways are not allowed beyond 9 pm. We reiterate our request to allow takeaways at least till 11 pm in the guidelines for the month of February," said All Odisha Restaurants Association president Rajiv Swain.
The association members said senior citizens staying alone in the city are also facing problems due to the restriction. An order issued by the office of the SRC on January 5 stated that hotels, restaurants, dhabas, bars and pubs will be allowed for dine-in up to 50 per cent of their respective seating capacities till 9 pm.
However, the order mentioned nothing categorical about takeaways not being allowed beyond 9 pm. Aurobindo Rath, a training administrator, said online food delivery services are helpful for working individuals staying away from families and the curbs are creating a lot of problems for them.
"Steps must be taken by government to ease restrictions and food delivery services should be allowed to function considering the fact that many people are working in the Capital City and do not stay with their families," he added.