In Delhi markets, new Covid-19 curbs reinforce fears of another full lockdown
OP Gupta, president of wholesale garment traders’ association in Gandhi Nagar, said fears of a shutdown run deep.
The imposition of a series of restrictions in Delhi, including a curfew this weekend, has reinforced fears of a lockdown in markets and among the interconnected network of stakeholders, ranging from traders, employees and warehouse keepers to transporters and porters.
“The lockdown was hell... Buses were stopped. We struggled to get home. We had no source of income in the city for days,” said Balram Singh, a porter in east Delhi’s Gandhi Nagar market. He said he returned to Delhi from his village in Bihar’s Sitamarh district in October.
OP Gupta, president of wholesale garment traders’ association in Gandhi Nagar, said fears of a shutdown run deep.
“For instance, a wholesale market for jeans will be associated with manufacturers. Each manufacturer will be associated with few ancillary units supplying labels, zips, and other such things. Each shop in the market will have helpers, accountants, and other employees, and regularly deal with porters, labourers, and transporters. It’s an entire ecosystem... The fear of a lockdown is not limited to traders and shop owners.”
Ankit Kumar, who works as a helper at a garment shop in Sadar Bazar, said: “During the lockdown last year, I managed to stay in Delhi and keep my job with a pay cut. But there is no point living in Delhi if I cannot save any money to send back home to Gorakhpur [in Uttar Pradesh]. If the government is planning another lockdown, I have to make plans too.”
However, market association officials said a few groups of traders have demanded a short lockdown, saying that the Capital’s Covid-19 graph had spiked at alarming levels.
Sanjay Bhargava, president of Chandni Chowk Sarv Vyapar Mandal said, “We have insisted that traders support their employees during the short lockdown, which is much-needed to break the chain of transmission. If people are assured that they will have food, shelter and that they will not lose their jobs, they will not start heading back to their villages.”
Devraj Baweja, general secretary of the Confederation of Sadar Bazar Traders’ Association, said, “We have stressed on staggered timings and the importance of distancing in the market, so that a lockdown-like situation does not arise.”