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With the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) set to hold a meeting on Thursday, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has urged the Delhi Lieutenant Governor, Anil Baijal, yet again to ease Covid-induced restrictions to enable traders to recoup the economic losses faced in the past 25 days.
In a letter sent on Wednesday, Praveen Khandelwal, Secretary-General, CAIT said, that the Covid-induced restrictions have badly impacted the retail trade in Delhi, with losses of about 70 per cent in the last 25 days, causing a worrisome situation among the traders of Delhi and other States. The restrictions have reduced the inter-state traffic of traders who were earlier moving from one state to another for procuring different types of goods, he added.
“ Non-vaccinated persons should not be allowed to move out from their home and the odd-even system and weekend curfews should be abolished. The working hours of Delhi markets can be notified from 10 am to 5 pm. A joint committee of trade representatives under each police station should be constituted with concerned police officials mandated to ensure compulsory compliance of the Covid safety protocols in respective markets,” Khandelwal recommended.
Stating that the wedding season has begun from January 14, CAIT urged the government to increase the limit of people allowed to attend weddings from the current 20 to 100 people. Hotels with dining areas and restaurants should be allowed to operate within 50 of the capacity, and non-vaccinated persons should not be allowed to participate in the wedding or visit hotels and restaurants, Khandelwal added.
CAIT said during the past 25 days, the retail trade in Delhi had registered a trade loss of 70 per cent across categories, including electronics, wholesale grocery, mobile phones, jewellery, toys, gift items, builder hardware, sanitary ware, apparel, furniture, kitchen appliances, computers and computer accessories among others.
Delhi has been witnessing a slide in Covid cases. The key industry bodies have urged the Delhi government to link restrictions with hospitalisations, given that the omicron-variant spread has led to fewer hospitalisations than previous waves.
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