Hyderabad: Mess, curry points still reeling under the impact of coronavirus pandemic

Hyderabad: Mess and curry points in twin-cities are still reeling under the impact of corona pandemic. Four months since Unlock began, these centers offering tasty Telugu meals and recipes for lunch and dinner, are yet to pick up the business. The footfall during lunch time (meals and parcels) is less than 25 percent in various mess centers, while almost all of them are remaining closed in the evening and not serving dinner.

According to Bandi Varaprasad Reddy, proprietor of a few mess and curry points in Secunderabad area, the business was not even 10 percent till August. However, with the public slowly starting to come out for duties and work, the footfall during lunch time has slowly picked up to 25 percent at present. We are expecting the business to increase after Dussehra time when all those private job holders and workers who went to their native places are expected to return to Hyderabad.

The slump in business meant mess and curry point owners have cut down their staff too. With less number of meals and food parcels going during lunch time, the food preparation quantity has come down considerably and so is the kitchen and serving staff.

Rents, vegetable and groceries costs, electricity bills, staff salaries and very less daily customers meant mess running people are running without any profit and in some cases they are spending up to Rs 2,000 from their own pocket everyday additionally to meet the expenses, said Reddy.

As for takeaways and curry points, he said only limited ones are functioning that too with limited number of recipes. Other curry points which used to buy curry and Dal of Rs 500 each from big mess centers nearby have completely stopped the practice as they are not getting any customers.

Meanwhile, the situation of mess and curry points is still worse in Hitech-city and Cyberabad areas with most of them remaining shut or closing shutters completely.

With IT companies not functioning from offices in view of WFH option, mess centers in and around the IT Zone had to close down with no options left as there are no customers.