Kovai bakers sceptical of resuming sales amid anticipation of restrictions

Instructions have come from the police, rather unofficially, to sell only essential items like bread, bun and biscuit to avoid crowding,” said R Ponnusamy, president of Coimbatore District Bakery Owners Welfare Association.

Like in Chennai, bakeries can reopen here, but only take away’s will be allowed from 6 am to 1 pm. Bakers believe that it may not be feasible for them to operate by selling limited number of products.

“It could be just an ad-hoc announcement similar to the opening of hotels, which remain closed due to restrictions. For bakeries, sit-ins need not be allowed, but take away should be allowed without any curbs. Else, it would be difficult to meet the expenses towards rent, labour and other operation charges,” he added.

However, a senior police official said that the bakers should adhere to norms of the government and denied issuing any restrictions prioritising the items to be sold in the bakeries. “The bakers should take up the onus on themselves to avoid crowding in front of the shop and ensure that social distancing norms are followed by their customers,” he said.

Hundreds of bakeries remain a major driving factor behind the bustling economy of this industrious city. In what could be seen as a pride of Coimbatore, there are about 750 big bakeries, while numerous smaller ones dot the city.

With transportation and goods becoming a challenge, bakery owners claim that finding labour and retaining them has become a challenging task.

“Like all other labour-intensive sectors, baking industry, too, thrives on employing labour from north Indian states like Bihar and Orissa. Most of them have left the city following curfew. It would be difficult to resume operations without them,” said R Muthukumar, a baker from Ondipudur.