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Ludhiana traders hold flag march demanding opening of all shops
The traders held that the factories won’t be able to operate for a long time unless shops selling their final products are not operational.
A day after the state government allowed industrial operations in mixed land-use areas, different shopkeeper associations in Ludhiana held a flag march in Chaura Bazar area on Friday, demanding that the state government should allow all shops to open.
The traders held that the factories won’t be able to operate for a long time unless shops selling their final products are not operational. The traders, including owners of garment stores, shoes shops, cloth shops etc, said they are reeling under losses as they have to pay electricity bills and salaries to employees, besides meeting other expenses even as their shops have been closed for almost two months now.
The different bodies that participated in the flag march, include the district unit of Punjab Pradesh Beopar Mandal, Ludhiana Consumer Products Distributors’ Association, among others. Members of the Business Bachao Morcha led by district president of Youth Akali Dal (YAD), Gurdeep Singh Gosha, also participated in the march.
Punjab Pradesh Beopar Mandal district president Arvnder Singh Makkar and Gurdeep Gosha said, “The government has allowed factories to open but factories cannot run for long unless shops are opened for sale. The government should allow shops of all the trades to open so that small traders can cater to their needs and pay the expenses, including electricity bills and salaries of its workers.”
Ludhiana consumer products distributors’ association president Harkesh Mittal said,”Due to prolonged lockdown, our staff is also planning to migrate to their native places. We were supporting them morally and financially as of now but if our retail outlets are not opened with immediate effect, our staff is also willing to leave soon. In the absence of skilled staff, opening the shops will become difficult. For a small trader, it will become extremely difficult to look for new labour in these times of crises.”
The shopkeepers rued that on hand while the government has allowed liqour vends to open, it has failed to open garment and cloth shops.
Model Town market association (regd) president Amarjit Singh said the shopkeepers are ready to follow all the guidelines issued by the government. “The government can impose restrictions on timings for opening the shops but it should take steps to bring some relief to the traders. The shopkeepers will follow all the guidelines and maintain social distancing at their respective shops,” said Singh.
The district administration has, so far, allowed opening of shops selling essential goods such as electric fans, air conditioners (ACs) and its repair shops, electricians, supply of books, stationery shops, vehicle repair and supply of spare parts, supply of electrical and sanitary goods, supply of construction material such as cement, bricks, sand, plywood, glass etc, supply of inverters, plumber and carpenter services and supply of hardware and paints. The shopkeepers have been allowed counter sales from 7am to 6pm.
