Country's restaurants count loss, cry out for customers

Dhaka : Restaurants and eateries in Dhaka and nationwide are facing significant drop in customers and orders following the ongoing political instability stemming from student protests, curfew and communications restrictions. 

After almost a week of closure, about 25,000 restaurants and eateries in the capital started to reopen their doors from July 24, thanks to some curfew relaxation. However, the turnout of customers still remains low.

Reports claimed, the restaurants are only witnessing 10 per cent of their usual turnout, as panic persists among the people.

The internet blackout for five days also robbed them of online sales as the food delivery platforms were off-grid. Parcel delivery started by the third week of July as broadband internet service resumed, however, business had not been good.

According to Bangladesh Restaurant Owners' Association, currently, Bangladesh has 4.81 lac restaurants, employing 30 lac people. Overall, two crore people are reliant on the sector, directly and indirectly.

Due to the closure, each restaurant incurs a loss of BDT 10,000 daily on average. Meaning, restaurants in Dhaka alone counted a total of BDT 8 crore per day, as per reports.