Few takers for bus services, eateries in Jharkhand

RANCHI: A day after the

Jharkhand

government allowed intra-state bus services to resume, a majority of the operators chose to not ply their vehicles on Thursday.

Of the 1,200

buses

that ply across Jharkhand, only 400-odd vehicles resumed their operations after a three-month lull. “It will take at least four days for all the buses to hit the streets,” Ranchi Bus Owners Association president Krishna Mohan Singh said.

“The batteries are dead and insurance papers have expired. Drivers and other staff have gone back to their homes and taken up odd jobs. Though the state has allowed inter-district transport to resume, these arrangements will take time to complete,” Singh added.

In its circular, the state transport department directed all the bus owners to refrain from raising the fares. “We were hoping for 50% seating capacity, but no such restriction has been issued. But having said that, there is not much to look forward to as public transport will have very few passengers. People will only travel if it is absolutely essential,” Satish Sahu, a bus owner, said.

Restaurants and bars, which were allowed to operate with 50% capacity, kept their shutters down. Those that pulled up their shutters for sit-in dining were disappointed. “There was only 20% occupancy in our tables today. Anticipating that the footfall will be low, we curtailed our menu to a large extent. We will increase items in the menu as the footfall rises,” the owner of a prominent city-based restaurant chain, told TOI.

Kunwar Bhatia, the owner of Ranchi’s Kaveri Restaurant, said, “All the necessary hygiene protocols are being observed in our restaurants. We did not sack any of our staff during the lockdown. They are very excited to get back to work.”

However, shops and apparel stores are hoping for a turnaround. “Usually, the bulk of our business happens during the evenings. Though we were allowed to open till 4 pm, the footfall was low. We hope that business will gather pace now,” Pawan Agarwal, a retail apparel store owner in Upper Bazar, said.

Though the multiplex owners have been cleared to open for auditors with 50% capacity, many remained closed on Thursday for cleaning and sanitation. “Even if we open, there is not much to look forward to as no new movies have been released in recent months due to the pandemic,” the owner of a multiplex in the city said.

Though the Jharkhand government eased lockdown norms for business, passengers arriving into the state via road, railways and air will be screened extensively, the state health department said. Though the e-pass system was abolished for inter-state travel, incoming passengers need to produce passes for arrival. The government also scrapped the mandatory seven day home quarantine policy for all incoming passengers.