Gujarat withdraws decision, says only essential item shops to open in four cities

Addressing mediapersons, Kumar said, “The collectors and municipal commissioners of the four metro cities – Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot – held discussions with the local traders. They also did consultation with the state government. And after that, they decided not to give permission to open (any) shops in the four cities till May 3.”

On Saturday, the state government said that standalone shops will be able to function with 50% staff and proper provisions of social distancing. The decision, however, excluded shops in containment zones, shopping complexes, malls and the ones selling tobacco products. It had also excluded barber shops, beauty parlours, restaurants and hotels along with shops selling cold drinks.

He called the decision ‘mature’, ‘balanced’ and the one taken after taking traders into confidence.

Kumar also said that the decision to relax curbs on standalone shops was taken in the interest of traders with a view to bring normalcy in the state. He added that, as earlier, only those shops in the four cities, which have been providing essential items like milk, grocery, medicine during lockdown, will be allowed to remain open till May 3.

In Vadodara, the decision was withdrawn by Vadodara Municipal Corporation after a consultation between officer-on-special-duty Vinod Rao, Municipal Commissioner Nalin Upadhyay, District Collector Shalini Agarwal and Police Commissioner Anupamsinh Gahlaut. The consultation was done after the authorities received a number of memorandums from various small and big shops and business owners urging that keeping the number of COVID-19 cases in Vadodara in mind, it will be in the interest of the city if the shops continue to remain closed and the lockdown be continued as before.

“During the consultations everyone agreed that it is important that the situation remains contained. Taking all of this in consideration, it was decided that the lockdown will continue. All shops except essentials will remain closed till May 3,” Upadhyay said.

In Rajkot, officers said they weighed costs and benefits of allowing standalone shops to open and after holding meeting with representatives of local trade bodies, decided not to make any exception in the ongoing lockdown.

Rajkot municipal commissioner Udit Agrawal said the municipal corporation had put in place a good home-delivery system in the city. “We have a very good delivery system in place and essentials are delivered to people at their doorsteps. More than 40,000 home deliveries have been made,” said the municipal commissioner.

In a video statement, Rajkot collector Remya Mohan said, “This decision has been taken by the state government. Yesterday, it was decided and a notification had also been issued to the effect… But today, it has been decided that no shops, except those selling grocery, vegetable, milk and medicines, will be opened in Rajkot Municipal Corporation jurisdiction. This decision is a precautionary measure, keeping in view the number of coronavirus cases…” said the collector.

V P Vaishnav, president of Rajkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry, could not be reached for a comment.

In some rural parts of the Vadodara district, a few shops opened and later shut down due to confusion over the formal notification on the subject.

In Padra, a fruit seller whose brother runs a small hardware store, on condition of anonymity, said, “I can keep my shop open but my brother cannot. Today a few shops were opened in the morning, but then there was a rush and the shops were closed down. We do not know whether one can open the shop or not. It is not clear at all. My brother is yet to open his shop. We will continue to observe first and then open. We do not want to land up in jail for any violation.”

A few metres away an electronics shop was one of the few shops to remain open on Sunday afternoon.

The owner of the shop Deep Ghadiyali said, “I shall shut it down soon. I had opened it in the morning. Almost half an hour ago, the police had arrived, I told them that the government has allowed opening of shops but they appeared clueless. There are no customers anyway. But summers is a peak time for sale of ACs, refrigerators, so I am hoping that there is more clarity and I am able to resume my business soon.”

A few people from nearby villages who had reached the main bazaar of Padra also returned empty handed after finding the shops closed.

“I had gone to the market area because my phone screen needs a repair. It was broken three days ago and we had learnt through social media that shops were opening today. But when I went there, only groceries shops were opened. The mobile shop was still closed so I came back empty handed,” said Jignesh Jadav from nearby Samiyala village.