Shops shut on Shimla’s Mall Road, weekenders sulk

Tourist influx was witnessed in the city on Sunday, but the government order to shut shops, especially on Mall Road and Lower Bazaar, dismayed the visitors and the

Tourist influx was witnessed in the city on Sunday, but the government order to shut shops, especially on Mall Road and Lower Bazaar, dismayed the visitors and the business community alike.

A police personnel urging tourists to wear face masks properly to stop the spread of Covis-19 at Ridge in Shimla on Sunday. (Deepak Sansta/ HT)

Shops and commercial establishment wing of the labourer and employment department had ordered closure of all business units on Sundays while shopkeepers for long had been demanding to amend the Himachal Pradesh Shops and Commercial Establishment Act, 1969, applies to a shop or a commercial establishment located within the limits of Shimla municipal corporation and other municipal areas and cantonment limits in the whole state. All the shops in the Lower Bazaar and Shimla’s iconic Mall Road remained closed on Sunday.

Jagmohan Singh, 40, a tourist from Delhi, said, “I came here with my family to enjoy the weekend, but when I reached Mall Road in the afternoon, I was surprised as all the shops were closed and we could not buy anything as souvenir from here.”

“We had no choice but to visit Lakkar Bazaar to buy a few wooden items and eat food. The government should alter its decision. Locals can have information on the shops being shut on Sundays but tourists have no idea,” rued Parkash Yadav, a tourist from Bihar.

Nearly 14,000 tourists visited Shimla in the last three days.

Meanwhile, shopkeepers on Mall Road are demanding the government to amend the law. “It is time to change the Shops Act and allow them to open all week. The business community of Shimla is looking up to the government for certain relief measures,” said Karan Nanda, who owns a readymade garment shop on Mall Road.

Shimla hotel and restaurateurs association president Sanjay Sood said, “Himachal being a tourist state we expect that positive decisions are taken for all stakeholders. It is unfortunate that shops are being forced to shut on Sundays in Shimla.”