After homes, yatra hits Ahmedabad trade

It's not only those who live along the yatra route who have shifted out. Even traders and businessmen, who operate from Shahpur and Dariapur...

It’s not only those who live along the yatra route who have shifted out. Even traders and businessmen, who operate from Shahpur and Dariapur, have begun vacating their shops fearing trouble during the yatra.

Farooq Readimadewala, who owns Heena Garments in the Shahpur market, says, ‘‘Every year during the yatra, I generally move half our stock two days prior to the event as a precautionary measure. But this year, I have already started vacating my shop.’’

Sheikh Shabbir Hussain, owner of Summi Traders, echoes the sentiments. ‘‘We are all in favour of a peaceful procession. But this year, there are rumours of trouble during the yatra. So all businessmen have started removing goods from their shops’’

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Lord gets a Trusty

Kolkata, July 5: When the Lord’s temple needs a lock, His men turn to Trusty. The 100-year-old company that in 1961 made the world’s biggest padlock (weighing 80 kg) for one of the pavilion gates at the World Trade Fair in Delhi has now built a 50-kg lock for a one-tonne iron gate at Jagannath Temple of Puri.

Owner J.P. Singh says they were thrilled to get the order. ‘‘As a Vaishnav family, we felt it was the Lord’s wish and I told the temple representatives we’ll not charge them anything.’’

It took Trusty three months and Rs 30,000 to complete the task. The lock has three, 14.5-inch keys made of brass and gunmetal. (Santanu Banerjee)

Hussain says that it would be better if the yatra route were changed. ‘‘Business has almost come to a standstill since the past week because our customers are wary of coming here. Only after the yatra gets over can we resume normal business,’’ he says.

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Chandmiyan Sheikh, a social worker of Shahpur, says, ‘‘Last night we had a meeting of residents and we have decided that there will be full cooperation from our side. But even then we have to take certain precautions so that just in case the situation flares up, we can deal with it.’’

Sheikh says that generally every year, the roadside cabins are removed before the yatra so that the procession can pass without any inconvenience. ‘‘But this year, people are scared and so many traders and businessmen have already begun to shift their things away from shops.’’

The story is the same at Jordan Road, Dariapur. Even those businessmen who had never vacated their shops have now started doing so this time.

Aziz Gandhi, Jamal Kirana Provision Stores owner, says: ‘‘The shop was started in 1980 and we’ve never vacated it even once during the yatra. But this year, we are not confident. So we have stopped ordering new stock and are trying to sell off all stock with us. For the first time, we will vacate it before yatra.’’