India's roadside restaurateurs count cost of pandemic

Workers are seen inside the kitchen of a dhaba, a small restaurant along a national highway in Gharaunda, in the northern state of Haryana, India, June 17, 2021. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

KARNAL, India (Reuters) - Asin Sharma lies idle on a cot near his restaurant by a highway linking India's capital New Delhi with the northern state of Punjab.

Few motorists stop at the line of five open-fronted roadside eateries on this stretch of highway. Those who do venture cautiously inside ask only for tea and water. The restaurant's tandoor, a traditional clay oven used for making flatbreads, sits cold and unused.