Jamshedpur,Jan 16:Makar Sankranti or Tusu has literally taken a toll on eating out plans in the city and on highways till January 20. Almost all the popular eateries in the city and those dotting the NH-33 linking Jamshedpur to Ranchi have been compelled to down their shutters with staff going on leave for celebrating Tusu Parab, arguably the biggest festival of the tribe of this region till January 20.
The festival falls on January 14 but with most of the staff hailing from Purulia, West Midnapore (in Bengal), adjoining Chandil (Seraikela-Kharsawan district), Patamda (around 30 km from city) and Haldipokhar (around 35 km from city) in East Singhbhum and going on leave from January 13 itself has forced eateries to shut-down from today itself.
Usually, Makar Sankranti (Tusu Parab) is celebrated between January 14-16 but the merrymaking continues for a week in rural areas extending the shut-down till January 20.
“We had no option but to shut down our food joint for a week from today as it is very difficult to prepare and serve dishes of the proper quality without untrained staff. We have been closing our unit for a week for several years despite complaints from our customers. There have been suggestions to make arrangements for alternate staff who do not observe the festivity so as to prevent closure of the unit. But so far we have not been successful in implementing this suggestion and have to suffer financially,” said an official of a food joint in Bistupur famed for its South Indian fare.
Around 15 popular highway dhabas on NH-33 famous amongst those with penchant for long drives and amongst those commuters who frequent between Jamshedpur and Ranchi also have the same fate.
“This is one of the main festivals of the tribe and we cannot employ staff at our joints and rely on villagers as our staff. It is very difficult to find a non-tribal employee with experience of cooking quality foods willing to work in dhabas. So we have to close down till January 20,” said Manoj Singh, owner of a hotel near Humid (Chandil) on NH-33.
He admitted that commuters travelling on long distance buses will indeed face problems as it would be difficult to find an eatery open till January 20 between Jamshedpur and Ranchi.
Prashant (35), a staff with a city-based pharmaceutical firm and a resident of Baradwari who frequents from city to Ranchi rued about closure of highway dhabas. “It is another experience eating out on a dhaba amidst natural sceneries near highways. I have to reschedule my scheduled visit to Ranchi after January 20 when the dhabas start functioning again,” said Prashant.
Around 20 restaurants tagged with well known hospitality addresses of the city have decided to cut down on dishes to tackle staff crunch due to the Tribal festival.
