Cinema halls in Kerala to reopen with restrictions from 25 October

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 2: The Kerala government has given its nod for the reopening of cinema halls. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday said that theatres and indoor auditoriums will be allowed to reopen from 25 with Covid-19 restrictions.

The theatres and auditoriums will function with 50 per cent seating capacity, Vijayan said after a Covid-review meeting. The entry will be given to those who are fully vaccinated.

However, the government is yet to release standard operating procedures.

The Kerala Film Chamber of Commerce and a delegation of film fraternity had a meeting with the Chief Secretary and top officials recently after the government requesting the government to give permission to the reopening of cinema halls along with various other demands.

The state has over 700 screens and over 75 movies are ready for release. However, the industry has requested certain waivers. "The government had waived entertainment tax but the concession period expired on March 31, 2021. It should be extended until the end of next year. Then only the industry can survive," the Times of India quoted G Suresh Kumar, president, Kerala Film Chamber of Commerce, as saying.

He added, "Fixed deposit on electricity connection should also be waived for a certain period. The government should also facilitate bank loans to help theatre owners complete the renovation before reopening,"

It has to be noted that the cinema halls have already opened in neighbouring Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Maharashtra government has allowed the reopening of cinema halls from 22 October.

Meanwhile, Kerala has reported 13,217 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours. A total of 14,437 patients recovered from the infection with 121 fatalities to take the death toll to 25,303 since the beginning of the pandemic in the state.