Catering companies ask Nagaland government to pay Covid-19 bill

Our Reporter
Dimapur, Nov. 18 (EMN): A number of catering companies that provided food to quarantine centres in Dimapur during the pandemic-induced lockdown have expressed disappointment over the failure of the government to pay their pending bills for the last 15 weeks.

Speaking to Eastern Mirror, a caterer who wished not to be named said that an amount of around INR 13 lakh still needs to be paid to him.

“It has been almost four months that payment hasn’t been made; there has been no positive response from the administration since we last appealed,” said the caterer, adding that earlier, ‘weekly payments were made when the empowered committee was handling the matters related to Covid-19’.

“It was very smooth but after it was handed over to the administration, payment started happening only after every two months,” said the caterer. He added that the last appeal was made on November 5.

[Also read: Dimapur hoteliers ask government to release INR 1.74 crore Covid bill]

Another caterer that provided food to almost 20 quarantine centres in and around the commercial hub informed this newspaper that over INR 50 lakh is yet to be paid to six caterers.

“Initially, we were getting paid regularly but after the influx of people started to lessen, they (government) stopped payment,” said the caterer.

A press release from the caterers stated that numerous visits and appeal letters to the concerned authority has led to only disappointments.

“This pandemic, unlike any other situation we have come across, required all stakeholders to perform on war-footing manner, without any scope for trial and error. Dimapur district being a major entry point for the state of Nagaland required maximum adaptability while responding to the highly demanding circumstances during the fight against Covid. It is evident as the situation simmers and upon reflection, all frontliners and their ancillaries gave an outstanding performance. Therefore, it is absolutely unfair, after having shouldered a huge burden and delivered a good performance, the concerned authority could not meet the expectation and honour the agreement made,” the press release stated.

The caterers have appealed to the concerned government authority to settle the issue of pending bills to all concerned parties at the earliest.

“Over and above the unexpected and overwhelming crisis, depriving of remuneration only adds more to the painful and exasperating journey for all the aggrieved parties and caterers, in particular. With regard to the humane services we have provided, we request the same to be reciprocated from the concerned authority,” it said.