Bombay Caterers Association seeks permission from the government for the survival of the wedding industry

EE News Desk Sep 03, 2020

Bombay Caterers Association (BCA) has sought guidelines from the government for the survival of the wedding industry that has been severely impacted by COVID- 19. The association has informed that they had no business since the last five months, which has severly impacted the industry. Amidst this gloomy situation, they are expecting some direction from the government for the further course of action.

The letter states that while the wedding industry has a bearing on other industries, including tourism and farming, it also provides large scale employment opportunities for women and youth.

The association states that while most of the industries are now on their path to revival through the various phases of unlock, initiated by the Centre and state governments, the wedding industry is still lagging behind.

They have assured the government that the catering industry has always welcomed all the measures taken by the government and followed them rigorously during this period. Additionally, during this unprecedented time of National Emergency, the caterers were actively involved in the distribution of food packets and other essentials to the needy.

Emphasising on an important point, Yogesh Chandarana, President, Bombay Caterers Association, said, “In normal situations, the parameters for crowd movement are 8 to 10 square feet per person. Taking into consideration of pandemic situation we propose to raise this limit to 20 square feet per person and accordingly raise the total number of guests directly proportional to the area of the premises which we feel will serve the purpose of social distancing.”

BCA also informed that the wedding industry will have a direct impact on the survival of many big and small industries such as catering, decoration, banquets, florists, beauticians, event managers, jewellers, bands & music party organisers, photographers, invitation card manufacturers, clothing, sweet shops, fast food suppliers etc. It will also indirectly affect many other industries such as travel, tourism and farming.They further stated that the industry provides large scale employment on a daily basis to uneducated and unskilled people majorly coming from lower-class including women and widows where they work for merely 60-70 days to earn their livelihood for the whole year.

Since the initiation of Unlock from Central and State Governments, 90% of the industries have already started reviving. However, the wedding industry is still the one lagging due to restriction of 50 persons. It is owing to this, most of the wedding venues cannot operate due to their size and operational cost. Everyone has been struggling to keep their businesses up and running during this unprecedented time. However, they highlighted several important pointers in their letter for the survival of the wedding industry.

Highlighting an important issue, Yogesh Chandarana, President, Bombay Caterers Association, said, “In normal situations, the parameters for crowd movement are 8 to 10 square feet per person. Taking into consideration of pandemic situation we propose to raise this limit to 20 square feet per person and accordingly raise the total number of guests directly proportional to the area of the premises which we feel will serve the purpose of social distancing.”

Satish Kamat, Secretary at Bombay Caterers Association said, “As per the current guidelines, wedding events are not allowed in A/C premises. We wish to inform the authorities that most of the A/C premises have AHU units which provide fresh air circulation. Currently, public movement is allowed in hospitals, aeroplanes, Malls, gyms and other A/C premises. We request them to allow the same for conducting wedding events.”

Lalit Jain, spokesperson, Bombay Caterers Association, says, “People have started enquiring for their wedding events scheduled in November and December 2020, but we are unable to give them an answer as we ourselves have no information. As there is hardly any auspicious period after January 15, 2021 most of the weddings would take place in November-December. If the government provides us with the guidelines immediately, only then we will be able to get this business in the coming season and our clients will be able to plan their weddings. If we do not get the guidelines, we will miss this wedding season.”

Bombay Caterers Association is ready to educate the caterers and try to take all precautions regarding sanitisation, hygiene and social distancing. BCA is ready to educate the caterers to follow the norms made by the government and are willing to do everything for the survival of this industry. “Looking at the current situation, we are not asking for any bailout package/concessions / financial help from the government. The only thing we need the permissions to work and earn our livelihood,” adds Lalit Jain, Spokesperson at Bombay Caterers Association.