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U.Bharath (cbedit@imaws.org)
Dindigul District Hoteliers and Restaurants Association (DDRA) has come a long way since its inception in 2000. Starting in a small way, presently it boasts over 600 members. Busily engaged in promoting the welfare of its association members on various fronts including demanding a much streamlined tax regime for restaurant business, legal safeguards for the protection of restaurant owners and employees, and improving tourism amenities in the district which has popular tourist spots such as Kodaikanal and Sirumalai in it to augment footfalls and patronage to their member restaurants. Kitchen Herald interviewed C. Rajkumar, President of DDHRA and the excerpts from the interview:
Kitchen Herald: Has the restaurant business scaled new heights in recent years in your district known for its tourism places?
Rajkumar: Luckily we have prime tourist and religious centres in our district including Kodaikanal, Sirumalai and Palani and a steady stream of visitors keep visiting these places all over the year.
Dindigul as a connecting city serves them well. Many visitors arrive at the city before embarking on their journey further from all parts of India and the restaurants are highly benefited from this as we get good patronage from these travellers all around the year.
We have vastly improved from the loss of business due to covid-19 and the business is on a strong footing now.
Kitchen Herald: What are the challenges in running the restaurant business in the district?
Rajkumar: Yes, with the mushrooming of social media, some unscrupulous elements among the YouTubers are abusing us. We have incidences in which we have been blackmailed and threatened by unscrupulous YouTubers, who often demand money from restaurant owners.
Rising incidents of violence against hotel employees is a worrisome factor, which needs to be addressed by the Tamil Nadu Government. This is a threat perception to restaurant owners and employees, which needs to be addressed by protective legislation like in the case of doctors, which was done recently.
While a YouTuber entered and videographed a restaurant kitchen claiming that rotten chicken meat was used in the restaurant, he blackmailed the owner and demanded Rs.10,000 to desist from circulating the video on social media. Such incidents are growing and restaurant owners should be protected from such abuse.
While a restaurant employee was stabbed in Dharmarpuri in broad daylight, in another such incident a fake journalist had demanded money from the restaurant owner in Uthamapalayam. Considering all this we urge the Tamil Nadu Government to enact a bill in the TN assembly giving legal safeguards to the restaurant business in the state. In a recent DDHRA meeting, a resolution to this effect was passed and we pray that the Government heed our rightful demands.
Kitchen Herald: How about the cost of running the business changed over the years?
Rajkumar: The cost of various cooking ingredients and essential items has skyrocketed in recent years. There is a three-fold price increase of essential items such as Toor Dhal, oils and vegetables. However we couldn’t raise the price of our menu due to fear of losing patronage and sometimes officials also questioned us, if we raised the prices. So, we are caught between the devil and the deep sea.
Kitchen Herald: Could you elaborate on how you manage your workforce?
Rajkumar: While the labour shortage is a perennial problem, the labour cost has increased over the years. Earlier we spent about 10% of our monthly expenditure on hiring labour for our outlets, but now it has risen to 25%, and it is affecting us in a big way.
Kitchen Herald: How do you perceive the prevailing tax regime including the GST?
Rajkumar: We in the association demand the urban local body ( Dindigul Municipal Corporation) levy a consolidated tax including Professional tax, Garbage tax, Property tax, and Water tax instead of separate slabs for various taxes.
Particularly the property tax has been hiked 100% time in recent years and there is year- on – year 6% raise for this tax, which is burdensome for the restaurant business.
Also, the GST for the rental tariff which is put at 18% should be scaled down. The GST regime should be simplified for easy and hassle-free taxation to restaurants. We also urge the government that the GST revision of taxes should be carried out only once a year.
Kitchen Herald: Do you confront any difficulties in looking after the welfare of your workforce?
Rajkumar: The Employees’ State Insurance Corporation ( ESI), the government-sponsored insurance scheme for the workers is dysfunctional. Cashless admission for the workers is not practised and we have to dole out money from our own pockets when an employee falls ill and needs to be hospitalized. Even if we pay for the treatment of our workers there is a long delay in refunding the amount spent on the treatment from the ESI.
Left with no other option, we have been forced to take insurance cover for our employees from Post offices or private players such as HDFC Ergo.
Kitchen Herald: How far you have adapted to the modernization of the restaurant kitchen?
Rajkumar: Automation and modernization have fast taken place in our member restaurants as chappati, vada and dosa makers are increasingly used. Due to prohibitive costs, the conversion to the solar and induction stove is a bit slow.
A good 20% electricity consumption could be reaped if a restaurant owner invests Rs.5 lakhs for a solar unit. I have one such unit, but others should come forward to install solar units in their outlets to convert to clean energy.
Kitchen Herald: Explain some CSR activities through your association?
Rajkumar: We have contributed a relief of Rs.6.90 lakhs to Wayanad Landslip relief measures by conducting a feast ( Moi Virundu) and collecting contributions from the attendees.
One of our members K.Mujibur Rahman, had conducted the feast in his biriyani outlet and collected the relief. We wanted to involve our patrons in this noble gesture and the response was, indeed, overwhelming.
The collected relief amount was personally handed over to Kerala Chief Minister Pinayari Vijayan by our association members We are also the first ones to participate in a call for bandh for a common cause, and our local associations in Kodaikanal and Palani have been working in tandem with us, and the unity among the restaurant owners have grown over the years.
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