Hyderabad: The ongoing Mahakumbh mela coupled with Birdflu scare cast a shadow on the occupancy ratio in restaurants in twin cities for the last few days. The restaurants registered over 20 per cent dip in the occupancy, according to National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI). Since the commencement of Mahakumbh mela in Prayagraj on January 13, a large number of people have been visiting Prayagraj to take a holy dip. In spite of non-availability of confirmed train tickets, several families are hiring buses and SUVs to visit Prayagraj while others are reaching the holy place by flight. This resulted in a sudden dip in the occupancy ratio in restaurants. Another factor that contributed to the reduction in customer patronage at restaurants was Birdflu scare in the State. The poultry farms across Telangana were unaffected because of the outbreak of Birdflu in East and West Godavari districts in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. Yet, food aficionados are hesitating to enjoy their favorite chicken biryani and non-vegetarian starters at restaurants. Rather, they prefer seafood and mutton. When contacted, NRAI Hyderabad Chapter Head Srinivas Sampath Tummala told Deccan Chronicle on Thursday that most restaurants registered a 20 per cent dip in occupancy ratio. He further stated that apart from Mahakumbh mela and Birdflu scare, the weddings that were happening in the city since the last 10 days was one more factor that contributed to the less patronage in Hyderabad, which has more than 200 major and medium restaurants. Eateries owners are in a dilemma as when would the situation improves and enhances the occupancy ratio. The Mahakumbh mela would conclude on February 26 but the uncertainty continues to prevail over Birdflu scare. They opined that the poultry farm owners in coordination with the State government must launch confidence building measures on eating chicken. The poultry industry faced the same problem earlier but the State government poultry owners organized melas in the city to allay fears among the people on eating chicken, they recalled.
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