Noida markets suffer losses due to low customer turnout, odd-even rule

The lockdown from March 25 saw some easing from May 21 but customers were hard to come by as fear of contracting the contagious disease kept most away from places that could be potentially crowded.

From customers not being aware about which shops are open, to staff not being able to report for work due to sealing of the border with Delhi, many issues plague Noida’s sector markets. They are also reeling under heavy losses -- the one at sector 18 reporting ₹20 crore per day -- and expect to take at least a year for them to recover.

Traders have been asked to follow an odd-even rule -- based on their shop numbers --for opening on certain days and to sanitise their shops regularly. However, there were other bottlenecks. (Sunil Ghosh/HT file photo)

The lockdown from March 25 saw some easing from May 21 but customers were hard to come by as fear of contracting the contagious disease kept most away from places that could be potentially crowded.

“We are not getting any business and almost every day, our traders are facing losses. Although it is difficult to assess the exact amount but we estimate that approximately ₹20 crore of losses are being faced by traders. We are not expecting the situation to improve anytime soon, not before the end of June at least. It may take at least a year for businesses to go back to the pre-Covid-19 scenario,” said Sushil Kumar Jain, president, Sector-18 market association and the head of Confederation of All India Traders Association, Delhi-NCR.

Traders have been asked to follow an odd-even rule -- based on their shop numbers --for opening on certain days and to sanitise their shops regularly. However, there were other bottlenecks.

“As such, the customer often don’t know which shop is open and which is not. Timings are also a major challenge. Markets have to started closing their shops by 7:30pm or 8pm. Because the days are hot and humid, people generally don’t prefer to come out during morning or afternoon hours. Therefore peak hours of conducting business are lost. A number of shop owners, staff and customers come to this region from Delhi. Border restrictions are also proving to be a deterrent,” Jain said.

At the Atta market, which used to be the most crowded market in Noida, there are less than 20% customers.

“Traders can’t even manage to pay for the daily operational costs. Maybe when the odd-even rule is revoked, like they have done for shopping malls, we may hope for some improvement,” said Dr CB Jha, head of the Atta Market, Noida.

“For example, there are three stationery shops in our market which are on the same roster, so they close and open on the same day. This is leading to undue competition. Sector 41 market has not been sanitised even once. There are no bathrooms, so no place wash hands either. If these issues are resolved, consumer confidence might improve,” said Rohit Gujral, president, Sector 41 market.

According to the health officials of Noida Authority their priority is to sanitise areas with positive Covid-19 cases, but were also sanitising markets.

“We have been sanitising several areas of the city using the fire department trucks. However most are containment zones or areas where cases had been reported. We also sanitise a few markets. If there are complaints, we will definitely look into it,” said IP Singh, officer on special duty (OSD), health, Noida authority.

“We are sanitising markets every Sunday with handheld machines and portable mist machines. The containment zones are however being sanitised everyday. Based on the requirements, we can increase the frequency at markets as well,” said Avinash Tripathi, OSD Health, Noida authority.