A day ahead of the re-opening of cinema halls in Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday met their owners and operators and asked them to follow the necessary rules and guidelines strictly.

"I hope that the cinema halls will strictly adhere to the guidelines and SOPs of the Central as well as the state government. It is extremely necessary to follow the social distancing and sanitisation protocols in the cinema halls," he said.

As per the standard operating procedures (SOPs), the moviegoers will be seated on alternate seats and there will be a cross mark on the seat that cannot be folded. The technical system of the AC has also been changed for viewers' convenience and entry and exit gates, seats, and lobbies will have to be sanitised from time to time.

Tickets will only be available online, and there will be a complete ban on eating and drinking while watching the film, as per the SOPs.

During his interaction with the representatives of cinema hall associations in Delhi, Kejriwal said that the people of Delhi, including the associations, will have to work together to revive the city's economy.

"The last seven months have been very tough for us. The whole country and the whole world is suffering from the corona pandemic. Delhi has fought a very tough and a strong battle against corona. The most important thing is getting Delhi's economy back on track, after it has been dismantled due to the corona lockdown," he added.

The meeting, attended by representatives from movie theatre companies like PVR, M2K, Movie Time, Cinemapolis, Inox, Unity, Pacific, etc, assured the Chief Minister of full adherence to all the directions as per the guidelines and SOPs issued by the Centre.

They also thanked Kejriwal for allowing the cinema halls to open from October 15, as per the guidelines of the Union Home Ministry and the Central government.

On October 7, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) permitted all the cinema halls of the capital to open with up to 50 per cent capacity from October 15.