Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru/Udupi (MS)

Mangaluru/Udupi, Apr 24: The night curfew that is imposed due to the increasing cases of second wave of Covid pandemic has hit the catering and Shamiyana industry hard. This time of the year is the peak season for these industries with scores of weddings, Upanayana, Brahmakalasha and other temple festivities are lined up.

Countless programmes were fixed in the last week of April as well as the first week of May. But due to the sudden Covid guidelines most of them are postponed while some are cancelled altogether.

With the restriction of only 50 people for a wedding ceremony, the caterers will incur loss instead of making profit as their income is more if the number of attendees will be large.

The plight of the Shamiyana industry is still worse. As only a few people are permitted there is no need for Shamiyana as the functions can be held within an auditorium. As there is no need for chairs, utensils and tables, the rent from these goods also cannot be collected. The weekend lockdown has also made the life of stage setters, flower sellers, photographers, Videographers, cooks, priests, taxi owners, maxi cab owners and drivers difficult as their income totally depends on the weekend programmes.

Flower business is also prohibited during weekend lock down. Even if the rituals are held at home with few members, flowers are very essential. Both the buyers and sellers of flowers are in a fix now.

Aneesh, president of Catering owners' association said, "Last year's lock down hit the industry very hard. We were expecting the situation to improve this year. Our season was just beginning. We had many orders. One of our association members had 62 orders. Now due to weekend lockdown all are cancelled. Our industry is totally under loss. Employees of the catering industry will be on the street in some time if the situation does not improve."

Suresh Kaniyoor, owner of Shamiyana shop says, "As the programmes which were scheduled to be held during weekends are cancelled, those who had booked Shamiyanas, utensils and chairs with us have cancelled their orders. As there is a lockdown during weekends, we have fixed some Shamiyanas on Friday itself for programmes that will be held on Monday."

Udupi

There are more than 1,000 Shamiyana and catering business establishments in the district. More than 10,000 people are directly and indirectly employed by these industries.

The situation is the same like that in the city of Mangaluru. Most of the catering and Shamiyana orders are cancelled and the employees of these industries are in dire straits.

Vijaya Suvarna, convener of Shamiyana coordinators federation, says, "Shamiyana industry is facing hardship since a year. Due to the weekend lockdown all the programmes are cancelled. As we are unable to pay the rent of godown, Shamiyanas and utensils are kept in the veranda of our house itself. Lac of rupees loss is incurred due to the cancellation of programmes up to May 5. We are unable to pay our employees also."

Pavan Acharya, catering owner of Kaup says, "People of coastal regions who are settled in Mumbai and Bengaluru organize many religious rituals in the months of April and May. But this time around, due to Covid many in Maharashtra have not arrived in the district. As such the programmes were less. Now with weekend curfew, the catering industry is pushed to the brink by the state government."