The apex trade body of Jharkhand has appealed to the state government to allow more businesses to open without any further delay.
"Some trades have been allowed to function in the state but the government should now allow more to do so," Federation of Jharkhand Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FJCCI) president Kunal Ajmani said on Saturday, adding that local businessmen were getting frustrated and experiencing financial strain as their establishments have been lying idle for the past few months.
Hotels were yet to open and bus services yet to resume, he further noted. Several other sectors like banquet halls, cosmetics shops and gyms should now be allowed to resume business.
"Actually, instead of allowing specific trades, the state government should now publish a negative list," Ajmani said, explaining that the list should only name trades that would not be allowed to function.
"Otherwise, traders, particularly those running small businesses, tend to get confused when they don’t see their trade mentioned in the list of those allowed to function," he said.
Cheeranjivi, a representative of the hospitality sector, said that with flights operating and a limited number of trains running, they had expected people to start coming to the state for business. “But they have no place to stay. Hence, hotels should be allowed to open without any further delay,” he said.
He said hotels had to spend a lot to maintain their establishments, apart from paying staff salaries. Hence, the losses incurred because of the lockdown would be very difficult to make up within the next six months.
Bus owners had incurred losses amounting to about Rs 150 crore, said Arun Budhia, a bus owner. He said they have also provided their buses and staff to help migrant workers to reach their villages after they arrived by train at various stations of the state.
"Neighbouring states like Bengal, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh have allowed buses to ply," he said, adding that it was time the Jharkhand government did the same.