Gyms, hotels to stay shut in Delhi
Last week, the Delhi government had decided to allow hotels and weekly markets to operate. But the Lieutenant Governor reversed the decision, saying the Covid situation in Delhi is still “fragile”.
Gyms and yoga centres in Delhi will stay shut which have been otherwise allowed to operate under the central government’s Unlock 3.0 guidelines — to be applicable from August 5 — the third phase of the gradual lifting of curbs announced to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
“Currently in Delhi, the government has done away with the curfew hours (10 pm – 5 am) under the Centre’s Unlock 3.0 guidelines. This was notified through an order issued on July 31. The same order also mentioned that other than the relaxation on curfew provisions, the status quo would remain in Delhi until further orders. Which means, as of now, yoga centres and gyms cannot operate in the city, nor can hotels and weekly markets,” said a senior official of the Delhi disaster management authority (DDMA).
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The DDMA is chaired by the L-G. Kejriwal is its vice-chairperson.
Last week, the Delhi government had decided to allow hotels and weekly markets to operate. But the Lieutenant Governor reversed the decision, saying the Covid situation in Delhi is still “fragile”. A senior government official said, the Delhi government is in the process of redrafting the proposal to be sent to the L-G office.
A senior Delhi government official said, “In the proposal that is being redrafted, the Delhi government shall include yoga centres and gyms along with hotels and weekly markets. The final call on this will be the L-G’s. As far as the Delhi government’s opinion is concerned, they are in favour of re-opening of these activities”
The central government’s un-lockdown guidelines allowed hotels and hospitality services to be operational from June 8 (under Unlock 1.0 plan). However, yoga centres and gyms were allowed to operate from August 5 (under Unlock 3.0).
The Union home ministry issued the plan, “Unlock 3”, on Wednesday prepared after receiving feedback from states and in consultation held with central ministries and departments, to open up more activities outside containment zones. States have to take the final call on lockdown and relaxation norms.
Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on August 1 wrote to Union home minister Amit Shah, urging him to intervene and allow economic activities in Delhi. Sisodia’s letter has so far yielded no response, said another Delhi government official.
Chirag Sethi, vice-president Delhi Gym Association, said: “This is a very tough situation for us and we are very anxious. We expect the government to allow gyms to open as soon as possible because the livelihood of over a lakh people depends on the fitness industry. More wait will cause more revenue loss for the industry which had been completely shut for around four months now.”
Sandeep Khandelwal, president of Delhi Hotel and Restaurant Owners’ Association, said: “Hotels in Delhi employ around 400,000 people. Hotels have been shut since March 25. The hospitality industry is under a lot of stress and the government must be considerate towards us. We have written to both the Delhi government and central government.”