Cinema Halls to Reopen in Assam, Sigh of Relief for Hall Owners

Following a significant dip in Covid-19 cases in Assam, the state government today decided to relax all Covid restrictions from February 15.

The decision of the government to reopen cinema halls with full capacity has brought a sigh of relief for cinema hall owners, the film fraternity as well as movie-goers.

The All Assam Cinema Hall Owners’ Association expressed their happiness on the Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s decision.

Speaking on the issue, president of the association, Chinmoy Sharma said, “We are very thankful to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for the decision. We have now found some hope for survival.”

“There is no viability in 50 per cent occupancy,” Sharma said.

“Even though there were few films, there was no content. Halls were closed in Mumbai as a result of which, they were also closed in other states. We hope that with the drop in Covid-19 cases in the country, halls will reopen in Mumbai too,” Sharma added.

Even though the state government had earlier decided to open cinema halls with 50 per cent occupancy, maximum halls were shut as the owners were incurring huge losses.

They were not able pay dues. Power supply to these cinema halls was also cut off and machines were in need of repair work.

Speaking on the Covid relaxations mission director of the National Health Mission (NHM) Assam, Dr. Lakshmanan S said, “Though Covid cases are still prevalent in Assam, there is a significant drop in the cases in the past few days. The positive cases this time are much manageable as compared to those during the first and second waves.”

“All economic and educational organizations and other services are gradually opening in the state. Curfew timings have also been relaxed,” the NHM director said.

“We don’t know the scenario of Covid in the future. Decisions have to be taken considering the evolving situation in the state,” Dr. Lakshmanan added.

256 new cases were detected in Assam on Sunday. While the positivity rate was 2.39 per cent, the total number of active cases in the state stands at 8,354.