Delhi traders' bodies ask L-G to lift weekend curfew during DDMA meet

Continuing its demand to lift the weekend curfew and odd-even rule for opening shops, the traders' fraternity here on Wednesday shot a letter to the lieutenant governor, ahead of the DDMA meeting.

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), the highest decision-making body on COVID-19-related issues, is slated to meet under the leadership of Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on Thursday to review the COVID-19 situation.

In its letter, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) asked the lieutenant governor to relax COVID-19 restrictions in Delhi in view of the decreasing number of cases.

CAIT, secretary general, Praveen Khandelwal said the retail trade in Delhi has suffered a loss of about 70 per cent in the last 25 days due to the restrictions.

Non-vaccinated persons should not be allowed to move out of their home, whereas on the other hand, the odd-even system and weekend lockdown should be abolished, Khandelwal stated in the letter.

Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) chairman Brijesh Goyal, too, on Wednesday submitted a memorandum to Baijal requesting him to ease restrictions for traders.

Nearly 20 lakh traders of the city are troubled due to the weekend curfew and odd-even restrictions on shops. COVID-19 cases have come down considerably in Delhi, Goyal stated in the memorandum asking the lieutenant governor to consider the traders' demands during the Thursday meeting.