The Kerala Cabinet did not take up for discussion on Thursday a review of the lockdown conditions that have become a bone of contention between the State government and the trading community.

This will now come up during the daily high-level Covid review meeting on Friday.

Major Covid-related regulations, their review, upgrade or relaxations, are usually discussed at the review meeting, following which the Chief Minister announces them at the daily evening press conference.

Earlier on Wednesday, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had sought to placate the restive traders in the State by inviting them for talks on Friday.

T Naziruddeen, President, Kerala Vyaparak Vyavasayi Ekopana Samithi, the traders’ collective, said in Kozhikode that it will wait for the outcome of the talks to take a decision on whether to go ahead with their protest action and open up their outlets for business.

Concerns to be discussed

“I spoke to Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, Member of the CPI(M) Polit Bureau, and the Chief Minister’s Office on Wednesday.

“Then the Chief Minister called me in the evening. He has agreed to discuss our concerns in detail during the scheduled talks on Friday in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday,” said Naziruddeen.

Losses incurred

The trading community is worked up over the fact that it has incurred a loss of ₹25,000 crore over the last two months under the over-restrictive lockdown regulations that allow shops and outlets dealing in non-essential items only on alternate days.

The total lockdown on weekend has kept away retail shoppers.

According to the traders, family-run neighbourhood shops are the worst-hit due to the unscientific lockdown regulations.

Most run their business on credit extended to trusted customers in the neighbourhood, but they tend to default after pandemic-specific concerns catch up with them.

On the other hand, the myopic view of the authorities in clamping down on traders with enforced short durations and working hours, have only further confounded the issue of avoidable crowding, with anxious customers milling around to replenish stocks of essential goods at home.

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