Traders rejoice as UP govt lifts curfew on Sundays

Awanish Awasthi, additional chief secretary (home), issued the directions on Friday and stated that all activities will be allowed every day from Sunday between 6am and 10pm with adherence to Covid protocols.

The Uttar Pradesh government on Friday announced lifting of Covid curfew imposed on Sundays from August 22. With this, the weekend curfew imposed to curb the spread of Covid-19, since April this year has come to an end. The government had earlier revoked the curfew on Saturdays. Officials said the night curfew will however continue to be in place.

Traders in Ghaziabad and GB Nagar cheered the announcement and said businesses that had suffered till now will get a boost with Rakshabandhan and Janmashtami coming up. (HT Photo)

Awanish Awasthi, additional chief secretary (home), issued the directions on Friday and stated that all activities will be allowed every day from Sunday between 6am and 10pm with adherence to Covid protocols.

Traders in Ghaziabad and GB Nagar cheered the announcement and said businesses that had suffered till now will get a boost with Rakshabandhan and Janmashtami coming up. They said the government should remove the night curfew also.

S K Jain, president of the Sector 18 market association and convener of Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) in Delhi-NCR, said removing the weekend curfew has been a long standing demand of the trader community ever since the economy started gradually opening up with the decline in Covid cases.

“Sunday is Rakshbandhan. People celebrate this festival and buy gifts and sweets for brothers and sisters. Lifting the curfew will give a significant boost to business,” he said.

He said that the weekend restrictions had forced many customers from Gautam Budh Nagar to shop in Delhi markets. “The traders will get full opportunity to do business and the customers will also have the opportunity to make purchases on time even during the holiday,” he said.

The decision has come as a pleasant surprise to restaurateurs as well. “Just last week, the government removed restrictions on Saturdays and so we did not expect such a move so soon. However, we welcome it as the last four months have been hard on us. Weekends are important for those in the dining business as it draws most customers,” said Varun Khera, president of National Restaurants Association of India, Noida Chapter.

Syed Shameem Anwar, associate director of marketing of Entertainment City, which runs the Great India Place Mall and Gardens Galleria in Sector 38A, said that the decision made retailers and shop owners happy. “With relaxation on Sundays, and movies releasing in theatres, we expect the crowd to increase,” said Anwar.

Traders’ association members in Ghaziabad said the night curfew too should be lifted.

“Allowing operations only up to 10pm is not good for eateries, restaurants and other food chains. They need more time to serve customers. Nowadays, the number of cases has also declined drastically. The government should ease night curfew at least in districts that have very low cases,” said Pradeep Gupta, convener of Vyapari Ekta Samiti – Indirapuram in Ghaziabad.

Dr Ashish Agarwal, president of Indian Medical Association (Ghaziabad chapter), also backed the idea. “There is always an option to bring back restrictions once there is any spike in cases. Considering the Covid situation, it is also time to increase the vaccination coverage,” said .

The night curfew was first introduced on April 8, while the weekend closure of markets, haats, commercial establishments and offices started from April 16.

The Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC) has decided to resume the metro rail service on Sunday too. Ritu Maheshwari, NMRC managing director, said this change will be effective from August 22 (Sunday) onwards. “NMRC currently operates from 6am to 10pm from Monday to Saturday. The services on Sundays will begin from 8am till 10pm. The trains will run at an interval of 10 minutes during peak hours (8am to 11am and 5 pm to 8pm) and 15 minutes during at other times from Monday to Friday,” she said.