All roads lead to Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Restrictions imposed by Karnataka and Maharashtra on New Year revelries seems to have turned into advantage for Telangana in terms of revenue though the threat of this influx threatens to trigger the third wave of Covid-19 as cases of the Omicron variant are more in these two States.

With the TS government permitting all pubs, clubs and all-star hotels to go ahead with celebrations and with many events being organised on Friday and Saturday, party lovers from the two neighbouring States have started pouring in. Not just that, even revelers from Rayalaseema in Andhra Pradesh are heading towards Hyderabad. The crowds include youth, techies and businesspeople. Barring a few restrictions like maintaining Covid safety norms, the event managements have been permitted to supply liquor and organise musical nights with big celebrities. Hotels and pubs in the Hi-Tec city were flooded with calls from Karnataka and Maharashtra for booking tickets to the events. More than 70 per cent to 80 per cent of the ticket-booking was over and this includes the local and outside revelers, said hotel authorities. The managements said that in view of the government orders, they were taking extra Covid safety measures by deploying additional staff to maintain hygiene in the premises during the party time.

Hotel managements said that they were creating small blocks with a capacity of 20 to 30 members inside the premises to ensure safe distance. The big challenge before the management is to maintain Covid safety protocols particularly after the revelers consume liquor. Ensuring that all wear masks properly could be a real herculean task for the hotel managements, they feel.

Taking the influx of people from outside as an advantage, the hotels were attracting the visitors with special offers in the supply of liquor and cuisines. A star hotel at Banjara hills told The Hans India that they hope to mop up good revenue this year. Last two years no such events could be organised due to the Covid restrictions.

Pub managements were expecting huge turnout of the visitors as youth from the border states of Andhra, Karnataka and Maharashtra have been sending requests for reserving the tickets. Hyderabad-based IT professionals have invited their friends and teammates working in Bengaluru to come to Hyderabad to usher in the New Year. Bookings opened to reserve the tables online since Thursday morning and there is heavy pressure on the websites, bar authorities said.