Telangana government undecided on opening of hotels

Hyderabad: The Telangana government is still undecided on whether or not to permit opening of restaurants in the State though the hoteliers say that they would ensure social distancing norms.

Hotels, pubs and restaurants were the worst hit because of the lockdown imposed in the wake of coronavirus pandemic. According to GHMC officials, there are more than 4,000 hotels and restaurants with trade licences in the corporation limits. Some of the hotels were selected as paid quarantine facilities for foreign returnees.

Though the corporation gets revenue from the hotels in the form of trade licence, officials of the GHMC say that there has been increase in the number of corona positive cases under the GHMC limits and hence the government may not allow re-opening of the hotels at this stage. This year up to May 27, the corporation received Rs 43 lakh as revenue, including Rs 38 lakh in the form of renewals and Rs 5 lakh from fresh licences, the official said. The state government which reviewed the situation on Wednesday felt that it should wait for Central guidelines before taking any final decision in regard to hotels, restaurants, bars and pubs. Meanwhile, the hoteliers say that they are also fully aware of the risks associated with socialising. They said they did not open the restaurants even though the government permitted them to operate take-away counters as they were not sure about the quantum of sales they could achieve since the people are still scared. But things could improve if the government permits opening of restaurants with guidelines, they feel.