Bhubaneswar: The state government’s move of weekend shutdowns has rubbed the owners of salons and beauty parlours here the wrong way as, they say, Saturdays and Sundays are the peak business days for them.
The salons and beauty parlours were allowed to operate after nearly two months of curb imposed by the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC). The services resumed after May 19 following a nationwide relaxation in lockdown. However, a new order by the state government declared a complete shutdown of these businesses every weekend.
“In our kind of business, Saturday and Sundays are two crucial days where we receive most customers. A large number of people who get weekend offs visit our shops during these days. With already lesser hours of operation now this will be a tipping point for the closure of our businesses,” said Iqbal Afroz, manager at a local saloon shop.
Salons and beauty parlours which were considered potentially high-risk places for spread of coronavirus, saw restrictions much before the lockdown. While the BMC eventually allowed them to operate, it gave a set of guidelines for relaxations. Amongst the other guidelines, one of the crucial instructions was to operate between 5am to 7pm. “Most of the customers belonging to working class are unable to come during this time,” complained Lopa Mudra Pradhan, owner of Naturals Salon & Spa here.
Lopa, who owns 10 chain salons in Puri and Bhubaneswar and is president of ‘Salon Association in Bhubaneswar’, said, “Out of the total number of people visiting our shops, 40 per cent are regular customers but only 10-15 per cent are coming to our shops now. While some have returned to their hometowns, others are unable to make an appointment during working hours or due to fear of Covid-19.”
However, a senior official at BMC said that operation of non-essential services 24×7 is not possible as there has been a steep rise in number of corona cases in the state. “While we understand the inconvenience, people must understand that it’s an ever evolving situation and the risk of spread of virus is projected to be highest in the month of June,” the officer added.
Lopa retorted that they have complied with all instructions of the BMC. “However, our only request to the authorities is to extend the closure timings from 7pm to at least 9pm which will help our business recover during weekdays,” she added.
Aviral Mishra, OP