Hotels in Dhanbad have launched takeaway service from their restaurants to cater to their customers following losses due to the lockdown and only a distant possibility of revival of business in the near future.

Skylark Hotel, one of the oldest three-star hotels in town, has resorted to launching a takeaway food service as well.

The senior general manager of Skylark Hotel, Anutosh Bagchi, told The Telegraph Online on Saturday, “We are maintaining the highest standards of hygiene and sanitisation in our restaurant every day before and during cooking. All social-distancing norms are maintained.”

He said before launching the takeaway service, they conducted full sanitisation of the hotel for five days, beginning with deep cleaning the hotel, including the restaurant and kitchen.

The hotel staff are made to wear hand gloves and caps.

“There are provisions for hand washing and sanitisation before the staff enter the kitchen.” said Bagchi.

The vehicles of the customers are also sanitised, he added.

“We have been taking orders over the phone since the service was launched on June 11,” said Bagchi.

He added that they have not entered into any tie-up with online food delivery agencies yet.

“We are awaiting the state government’s nod to reopen lodging facilities in the hotel in the interest of staff as well, as we are finding it difficult to pay them with almost zero income” said Bagchi.

The owner of Seventeen Degrees Hotel, Sandeep Narang, said, “We are also operating a takeaway service from our restaurant on public demand and maintaining the highest standards of hygiene and sanitation.”

“We request the state government to allow the hotels to run their business so they can pay their staff. With the opening of businesses, people are travelling from one city to another and need places to stay,” said Narang.

He requested the state government to allow the restaurant services to open as well, as in Bihar.