CM thanks hoteliers for COVID-19 support

New Delhi: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said that it was the Central government that was against reopening hotels and restaurants in the Capital, but that he and his government fought for it and managed to persuade them.

The Chief Minister was addressing representatives of various hotel associations on Wednesday when he made these remarks and urged all stak holders to now work together and overcome the economic challenges before them."The Central government was against the idea of opening the hotel industry in Delhi, and I would not blame them

because the Centre must have thought that the cases might rise again.

"But I explained to them that the hotels are functioning in areas where the cases of corona are rising in the country. Either the Centre should shut down the hotels across the entire country, or open it in the regions where the situation is under control," Kejriwal said. After many attempts, the Central government last week allowed the reopening of hotels in Delhi, with the decision taken in a meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority on Wednesday, he said.

Stressing that normalcy had been brought back, the chief minister said reopening the hotel industry in Delhi was a very important step in reviving the city's economy.

"We have to think about two challenges, first is how to end the spread of the pandemic, and the second is reviving the economy of Delhi because businesses have been shut down and jobs have been lost due to the pandemic," he said. Kejriwal also thanked the hotels for supporting

the government in enhancing the capacity of beds to accommodate more patients when corona was at its peak in Delhi. Stressing that it was a common fight, he said, "We tried to bring everyone along with us in our fight against corona, be it our political rivals, opposition, or friends, we kept aside all the politics and joined hands in our efforts."