Second Covid-19 wave: Night curfew pushes Patiala biz to the brink

The hospitality sector, which was gradually picking up after the lockdown, is one among many that is feeling the heat

Patiala, a usually bustling city, wears a deserted look on a recent weekend evening. With 30 minutes to go before the 9 o’clock curfew deadline, the police begin to go around the city’s famous jutti (shoe) market, asking shopkeepers to down their shutters. Several parts of the market are barricaded and the police stop people from entering the area. 

Akash Singh, 25, tries to enter a local dhaba 10 minutes before the curfew hour. “Sirf pack hoga (only packed food is available),” the man at the counter tells him, refusing to let him in.

Singh asks for the menu, as