Delhi: Odd-even rule, weekend curfew will kill business, say traders

Paramjeet Singh Pamma, vice-chairman of the Federation of Sadar Bazar Traders’ Association, said: “Traders have been put on a ventilator. Due to night curfew, shops can’t function after 10 pm and loading and unloading of goods is affected. With weekend curfew also in place, we are left with two to three days in a week to operate.”

“What is the point of vaccination when the restrictions are even heavier? Pictures of the rush at markets shown in newspapers are due to illegal hawkers and vendors. It is the government’s duty to ensure that hawkers do not set up illegal shops,” he said.

Ashok Randhawa, president of the Sarojini Nagar Mini Market Association, said, “We are already facing losses — our winter stock is usually sold out during this time, but is now piled up. If we can’t make sales, our money will be stuck for a year. While we can open for fewer days, we still have to pay staff their entire salary. The crowd is already thin, so we hope that one of the restrictions is withdrawn.”

National Delhi Traders’ Association (NDTA) president Atul Bhargava, who owns a shop in Connaught Place, said the odd-even rule is not a solution: “The real focus should be on crowd management. This is creating confusion and chaos for customers and sales have dropped drastically.”

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had earlier said there will be no lockdown in the city and all Covid restrictions will be lifted gradually as cases decrease and the death rate comes down.