Hotels across the State will down shutters on June 29 and stage a dharna in front of the Secretariat in protest against the government’s move to regulate and standardise the prices of various food items.
In a statement here on Wednesday, the Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association said that when the government had no mechanism to check the spiralling prices of essential commodities, it was unfair on its part to regulate and standardise the rates of hotel food. Such a move would lead to the downfall of the hotel industry, the statement said.
Consumers had the right to choose an eatery which was affordable to them, the association pointed out. But if the government were to standardise the price of hotel food, a hotel owner would be forced to compromise on quality and quantity of food items, the statement said.
The government had not been able to launch the Tripti fair price hotels it had declared in last year’s budget. Even the Civil Supplies Department was unable to give an assurance to hoteliers that it would supply raw materials at a fixed rate for a year or even for three months, the association said. The hotel industry did not enjoy any kind of subsidies or allowances from the government either, it said.
It challenged the government to introduce standardised rates in eateries and hotels run by KTDC and canteens run by cooperative societies.
