KARACHI: Now that the federal and provincial governments have allowed restaurants and hotels to reopen, it will surely go a long way, albeit slowly, in bringing back the service industry to its feet. However, restaurant owners and their staff who run these businesses on a daily basis must not throw caution to the wind. The pandemic hasn’t gone away. Yes, the fact that its effect has lessened in Pakistan is extremely encouraging. But it must be kept in mind that one of the reasons for it is that people were not allowed to gather in groups. So, physical distancing, wearing of masks and keeping hands sanitised must be ensured for those who enter an eatery to have a good time as well as for those who serve them.

It’s hard to ascertain the financial damage that lockdowns have caused to the hospitality business. Obviously, restaurateurs and proprietors of big hotels must be feeling the loss that they have so far incurred. There’s another aspect of it. A large number of people employed in this sector that earn a living through monthly salaries — such as waiters, managers, accountants and guards, etc — find themselves in a tighter spot than their employers. The reason for that is that usually such individuals don’t have, or bank on, huge savings — they barely eke out a living.

A visit to any of the food streets in Karachi these days will give the scenario away. The waiters, if they haven’t opted for another profession yet and are here on a part-time basis, will rush towards you, hoping that you’ll place a reasonable order followed by a decent tip. The desperation is evident.

Rubina, who manages a high-end restaurant in Clifton Block 4, where quite a few other eateries are located, narrates a saddening lockdown tale. “Our waiters have suffered a lot. Most of them come from the northern areas. They rent a room shared by three or four of them. They eat outside (from low-end eating places or dhabas) and give their clothes for washing and cleaning to a laundromat. Ever since lockdown started, all of this became extremely difficult to manage. Where could they get their food from? Where would the rent come from? A few of my colleagues literally starved. One of them cried in front of me because he hadn’t eaten in a while. Consequently, some of the waiters went back to their villages where they said they could get food and have their clothes washed.”

This is, indeed, a harrowing account. So, imagine the plight of cafes not frequented by affluent men and women. Abbas bin Ali runs a famous, traditional Irani restaurant on I.I. Chundrigar Road. His recounting of the tough time is not different. “For four months we had to go through a torrid period. Our labour, our managerial staff … all suffered. We incurred a loss of between one and one and a half lakh rupees per month.”

While upscale eateries made do with home deliveries, the question that springs to mind is: how did these roadside cafes survive in this economically challenging phase, let’s say, from mid-March to the first week of August? Abbas bin Ali replies, “It was hard. We scraped through by a bit of delivery service, but it didn’t work for us. The thing is that we mostly cater to offices on I.I. Chundrigar Road, and offices were closed in that period. But God has been kind. Somehow we have survived.”

Thankfully, businesses have resumed functioning. In order for them not to return to the ‘survival mode’ they need to make certain that the SOPs are followed come what may.

Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2020