Sweet Shops To Now Be Open For Eight Hours Not Four, Says West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has announced that sweet shops in the state will now be open for eight hours from 8 AM to 4 PM everyday, ANI has reported.

The sweet shops in the state were earlier given permission to open from 12 PM to 4 PM everyday. This move is also said to have been a result of demands from dairy suppliers with demand crashing post lockdown.

“A lot of farm owners are in trouble because of the lockdown. I was concerned. Bengalis love sweets. So, we decided to allow sweetmeat shops in the neighbourhoods to remain open for four hours in the afternoon”, Banerjee was quoted as saying at the end of last month when the four hour window was approved for sweet shops.

Sweets are a highly sought after item in the Bengali cuisine. While initially approving the proposal to keep the shops open, the state establishment had said that the shops can only provide a takeaway service and need to take measures to avoid crowding.