Amid night curfew in Delhi, many restaurants are facing issues with food delivery, and many aren’t accepting orders post 9pm. Though Delhi Police officials say delivery boys with passes can commute, due to fewer passes and lack of clarity, the service has been affected in the city. On Thursday, some delivery boys in south Delhi were stopped from delivering food post curfew hours. Restaurateur Bobby Kochhar says, “Our delivery boys faced issues after the curfew announcement, when they were out for delivery. Usually, we take orders till 11pm, but are now closing the restaurant by 10pm till there’s clarity on whether food can be delivered beyond 10pm.” Spokespersons from food delivery companies Zomato and Swiggy say that they are doing their best to work with the restaurants and state authorities to follow safety guidelines and deliver meals to people.
‘Restros have set their time for last orders’
The National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) has written a letter to the Delhi Lieutenant Governor, Delhi Chief Minister, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) Secretary and Delhi Police Commissioner seeking clarity on the matter. The letter states, “The restaurant industry is facing severe challenges and harassment by authorities in Delhi in continuing with food delivery services beyond curfew hours. The actions by authorities include issuing challans and even workers being detained by the police. This is a serious situation, especially at a time when the industry was once again in the process of re-hiring its employees.” Kabir Suri, Vice President, NRAI says, “The police officials on ground have no clarity, so they’re stopping delivery boys. Restaurants have set their own time for last orders, but most of them are closing at 10pm. We have taken up this matter with the authorities.”
Dwarka resident Ishika Rao, whose niece had placed her dinner order at 8.30pm and received it after 10.30pm, says, “The delivery boy said that we should have ordered in evening as restaurant isn’t operating beyond 10pm, adding that he took a longer route to our home to deliver the meal.”
