The number of customers in the restaurants has marked a fall by more than 60 per cent in the Sylhet city and district due to the ongoing blockade and hartal causing heavy loss to the eatery owners as well as unemployment problems.
Abul Fojol, Manager, Pakshi Restaurant in Bandarbazar said most customers visiting their hotel are mainly from outside Sylhet.He said his sales have come down to less than 40 per cent as people for different purposes cannot come to Sylhet due to transport problem and safety concern.He said last month his loss was around Tk 10 lack and to cope with the present volatile situation he has cut the number of his employees.The restaurant manager said his per day sales before the blockade was around Tk 120 thousand per day but it is now less than Tk 50 thousand.The manager said if this situation continues his owner will have to shut down business as sales amount per month is much below than the overhead costs and he fears his owner may cut more jobs.According to a staff of Pak in the city, the number of high- end customers has dropped by more than 50 per cent and the present customers are mainly from the garment factories, rikshaw pullers, taxi drivers and some other professionals.
A staff at the Porshi said the number of customers in their restaurant has registered a sharp fall due to the ongoing turmoil.
He said students and family members are their main customers.
The number of customers in their restaurant has marked a fall by more than 50 per cent, he said adding as the Pachbhai has a large infrastructure and manpower, the business establishment is passing through a bad time.Kahar, a waiter at Jolshiri in Zindabazar Road area said presently the number of their rich food customers is less than the peaceful times and currently they are cooking cheaper menus.He said earlier, they had to purchase twenty kilograms beefs, five kilograms mutton and sixty chickens per day to meet the customers’ demand. But for the last five to six weeks their beef, mutton and chicken customers have fallen by 60 per cent, he lamented President, Bangladesh Restaurant Owners Association in Sylhet, said customers in Sylhet and the district town hotels have fallen by more than 50 per cent following the current political upheaval.According to the association leader, more than 60 thousand registered hotels are there in the country and except a few, most of the hotels mainly in Sylhet are facing a hard time now.
He said a good number of their association members has cut their staffs and just running the business without making any profit.
He said customers for breakfast and dinner are almost nil in many hotels and the staffs there are in fear of losing their jobs.S.A Shofiee, Sylhet
