Trader body asks Delhi govt to allow opening of shops, markets from Monday

Delhi, which has been under lockdown since April 20 to contain the spread of Covid-19, will begin gradually lift restrictions starting Monday (May 31), chief minister Arvind Kejriwal announced earlier

Traders’ body the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has expressed anguish at the Delhi government’s decision to exclude shops and markets from the city’s ‘unlock’ process starting Monday. 
 

Delhi, which has been under lockdown since April 20 to contain the spread of Covid-19, will begin to gradually lift restrictions starting Monday (May 31), chief minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Friday. 
 

In the first phase of unlocking, construction and manufacturing activities will resume in the city, as CM Kejriwal said that a lot of poor families are reliant on daily wage labour at construction sites for their livelihoods.
 

CAIT national general secretary Praveen Khandelwal said over 1.5 million small and big traders in Delhi provide employment to 3.5 million employees, most of them migrant labourers dependent on their work in retail shops for their livelihood. 
 

Khandelwal added that factories and manufacturing units will operate smoothly only when they’re able to buy building material, tools, building hardware, machinery, spare parts etc from retail shops. 
 

“Further, the production of factories will remain idle if they don’t sell their products and it can happen only when shops are open. In such a situation, the basic justification for the opening of construction activities and factories is failing badly,” Khandelwal added in a press note. 
 

In a proposal sent to the Delhi government and Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, CAIT recommended that starting May 31, wholesale markets in the city should be allowed to open from 10 am to 4 pm and retail markets from 12 pm to 7 pm. The proposal added that further details on the timings and days on which the shops will remain open can be worked out, but opening shops is the need of the hour as traders are facing an acute financial crisis. 
 

During the lockdown, daily Covid cases in Delhi have come down substantially. In the last 24 hours, Delhi recorded 956 Covid cases with a positivity rate of 1.19% and 122 deaths because of the virus.