Salon, spa owners unhappy with Delhi govt's order of weekend curfew

By Kumar Gaurav
New Delhi [India], April 15 : Salon and spa owners in the national capital have expressed their unhappiness with the Delhi government's decision to impose a weekend curfew to tackle the relentless surge of COVID-19 cases.
According to the new guidelines of the Delhi government, spas, saloons, restaurants, market places, ets will remain shut from 10 pm on Friday to 6 am on Monday.
"These restrictions are for your sake, for you and your families. It will be inconvenient but these restrictions are necessary to break the chain of transmission," Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said in a video address on Thursday afternoon.
"Don't panic. All essential services will be available through the weekend," he added.
Reacting to the decision, owners of spas and salons in Delhi said this is not fair as there could be other ways to curb the spread of the infection.
While pointing out that spas and salons do not see large gatherings, they asked why the government does not stop "super spreaders" like religious and political gatherings.
"The decision is not right as it will affect our livelihood. We have so many staff members working here. Nowadays, clients do not come to salons and those who used to visit us on weekly basis now come in a month or two. And now we have been asked to close down on the weekend too," Remma, a saloon owner in Greater Kailash market, told ANI.
Another spa owner from the GK market, Dr Raj, said, "We are getting step motherly treatment from government from the last lockdown. We fought in the court, then we were allowed to open a few months back. Now it is another decision which will harm the owners and workers here. We have around 25 workers and there livelihood will be impacted. If the government cannot help us economically, then they must allow us to work."
Vidya Sagar Sharma, another salon owner, said they also want Delhi to be COVID-19 free but there are other ways which the government should adopt in order to stem the spread of the virus.
"Increase vaccination and take other steps, closing down markets will not make any impact," she suggested.
A restaurant owner, Abhay Kothari, said that there is lot of confusion among them regarding the decision.
"We have been asked to deliver at home but if we are not allowed to open then how can we prepare food and deliver? Still, we believe in the system regardless of losses. Everyone needs to be safe," Kothari said.
Auditoriums, restaurants, malls, gyms and spas will be shut down and movie theatres will be allowed with a third of their capacity on weekdays, as per the new guidelines of the Delhi government. Eating out is banned and only home deliveries and takeaways will be allowed. Weekly markets will continue but with restrictions - one market will be allowed on any day at a given zone.