JOIN USLockdown: Restaurants pass on parcel charges to customers
Offering only takeaway services, local joints have hiked prices to include parceling charges and customers, left without a choice, are paying them.
A cup of coffee at a darshini comes with an additional Rs 2, as many of them charge Rs 14 to Rs 16 to include the money spent on the parceling material. While parcel charges are nothing new, they are particularly pinching the customers during the financial crises triggered by the pandemic.
Restaurants have also hiked prices for other dishes anywhere between Rs 20 to Rs 40. “Offices have resumed from Monday and no canteen is operating,” said an employee with a private firm in central Bengaluru. “We have no option and are dependent on the nearest hotels, which are charging extra for takeout meals.”
Karnataka Hoteliers’ Association president Chandrashekar Hebbar said the parceling costs money to the restaurants that are also operating in loss. “We provide the cup and a lid to cover it,” he explained as a reason for the additional charge. “This’ll be reversed once we receive permission from the government for dine-in services.”
Friday deadline
The association had given the government three days to decide whether to allow dine-in services and that ended on Thursday. Association members said they would meet the chief minister on Friday and decide on withdrawing the takeaway services.
“When we met Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Tuesday, he sought three days' time (to decide on allowing dine-in services),” Hebbar told DH. “If the government refuses permission for dine-in, we will withdraw the parcel services and close down hotels across Karnataka.”
When the government has allowed small eateries and roadside pushcarts, why should it not allow dining at around 50,000 hotels in the state,? Hebbar asked. "We would ensure social distancing by revising the seating arrangements. Despite this, if the government fails to consider our pleas, we cannot bear the financial loss just by operating parcel services,” he said.