Traders angry over shutdown

They had all got revamped, courtesy the Commonwealth Games. But they wore an empty look on the D-Day.

They had all got revamped, courtesy the Commonwealth Games. But they wore an empty look on the D-Day.

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Traders across the city were hoping that Sunday would be a festival of a kind with shoppers thronging their markets to celebrate the Games but that was not to be as all the markets had to be shutdown completely owing to a notification issued by the Delhi government.

“This is unfair. We were waiting for this day for the past few months but it has come as a huge disappointment. A number of our regular clients also called us asking if we would be open our shops. We had made a number of arrangements for this day and it has all gone waste,” said Vinay Narang, an Old
Delhi trader.

Khan Market, Lajpat Nagar, Sarojini Nagar, Defence Colony market, South Extension, Connuaght Place, Karol Bagh, Paharganj among others had closed down. Markets such as CP and Khan Market had recently got a makeover for the Games to attract the tourists.

“A number of markets will be closing down tomorrow. We have already suffered huge losses and such closures are going to create a further dent,” said Arun Gupta, secretary of GK-I Traders’ Association.
Markets such as CP, Karol Bagh, Paharganj, Greater Kailash-I had already suffered huge losses this year due to the improvement work carried out in these markets.

Connuaght Place will be shut for three more days starting from October 9 for cycling and marathon events. All the markets will be shut once again for the Closing Ceremony too.

Paharganj was also bereft of regular foreign visitors.