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Night curfew, Sunday curbs removed: Shopkeepers in Ludhiana breathe a sigh of relief ahead of festivals
Shopkeepers say easing the restrictions will encourage residents to visit markets
With the state government abolishing night curfew and Sunday lockdown restrictions after 192 days (since March 23), shopkeepers in the city have finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Following the announcement on Thursday, shop owners now hope that the business will be back on track ahead of the upcoming festival season.
Amarjit Singh, president of the Model Town Market Association,said, “It is a welcome step by the state government as the traders were reeling under losses due to the night curfew and Sunday lockdown restrictions. Also, the decision to increase gathering limit at events to 100 is an appreciable step as now, weddings can be organised, and people will visit markets.”
Citing losses incurred by traders due to low footfall in the markets, the Punjab Pradesh Beopar Mandal had earlier warned the government of an agitation if the restrictions are not removed by October 1.
General secretary Sunil Mehra and district president Arvinder Makkar said, “Traders were under extreme pressure due to the losses. Now, they will be able to open shops normally with no night curfew restrictions in place. This move by the state government will certainly bring business back on track during the upcoming festival season.”
Mehra added that chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh should conduct a meeting with the traders associations to provide more relief in terms of electricity bills, VAT refunds etc.
A shopkeeper in the Ghumar Mandi market area, Babanpreet Singh, said, “The government has finally provided relief to the shopkeepers as large number of customers visit the markets on Sundays only. The traders were seeking abolition of Sunday lockdown restrictions for long time and this comes as a major relief.”
Manpreet Singh Bunti, president of Akalgarh Market Garment Association, said, “Most of the customers from other districts visited wholesale markets of the city only on weekends. With Sunday lockdown restrictions in place, our business was hit badly.”
Hospitality sector, restaurants welcome relaxations on gathering limit
Reeling under heavy losses, the hospitality sector has lauded the state government’s decision to increase gathering limit at events from 30 to 100 people.
The owners of marriage palaces, restaurants, hotels and tent dealers have been seeking an increase the gathering limit for a long time and agitations were also held by tent dealers association in the past.
The owners rued that no bookings are being made as it is impossible to arrange a wedding with just 30 people.
President of Marriage Palaces Welfare Association, Amarjit Singh, said, “The state government has provided much needed relief to the sector as our business has been shut since the imposition of curfew on March 23. Now, we have started receiving enquiries from residents and we also expect that the state government will further increase the limit as per directions of the union government. With these restrictions in place, we were not even being able to meet fixed expenses.”
Restaurant are also expected to be back on track with abolition of night curfew restrictions. Owner of Basant restaurants, Bhupinder Basant said, “This decision to abolish night curfew restrictions will surely increase the footfall in the restaurants as most customers visit restaurants after 8pm.”
