The All Odisha Gym and Parlour Owners’ Associations on Friday urged Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to announce special compensation for 2,000 gym owners, 5000 parlour owners and around 2.5 lakh employees of both sectors as both the industries were closed for almost 11 months out of the last 16 months because of Covid.
While welcoming the Government’s decision allowing reopening of gyms and parlours, the organisation demanded a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to Rs 15 lakh based on investment, free electricity and property tax for at least two years as per a Gujarat package, free or minimum interest loan facilities under MSME or any special measure for the sectors and reducing the GST on gymnasiums to 5% from the existing 18%. Besides, both associations also demanded delinking gyms and fitness industry from entertainment industry and assigning an authority with clarity of definition, power and procedure and bringing the nomenclature of the gyms under the Government’s health sector.
“Banks are continuously behind us to repay or close the loans at the soonest. We are not able to pay the staffs their salary,” said parlour owners’ association president Baisali Mohapatra. Despite repeated appeal to Government, there is no response to demands, rued gym Owners’ association chief Dr Satyajit Dash.