Many non-essential shops opened on Thursday following the notification by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), while some remained closed as per the decision of the traders’ body.
Pune Vyapari Mahasangh, the traders’ body, in its meeting on Wednesday night decided to wait for a few more days to open shops as most of its members hail from containment zones.
Shops selling cloth, hardware and construction material were open in areas like Aundh, Baner, Kondhwa, Hadapsar, Warje and Camp, even as those located in the central parts of the city like Deccan, Navi peth, Shivajinagar, and Kothrud, Satara road and Bopodi remained closed.
Shekhar Gaikwad, Pune municipal commissioner, on Wednesday, allowed non-essential standalone shops to open between 7am and 7pm in non-containment zones. In his order, Gaikwad allowed shops involved in selling and repair of electronic gadgets and mobile phones to be opened on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, while hardware, plumbing, construction and cloth stores along with vehicle garages to function on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.
Many shop owners who did not open their business establishments cited confusion regarding the orders issued by the PMC and the appeal made by Pune Vyapari Mahasangh.
Fattechand Ranka, president, Pune Vyapari Mahasangh, said, “Our staffers who work for these shops located in the central parts of city have to travel from containment zones. We have decided to remain shut as part of our help to the government.”
{{/usCountry}}Fattechand Ranka, president, Pune Vyapari Mahasangh, said, “Our staffers who work for these shops located in the central parts of city have to travel from containment zones. We have decided to remain shut as part of our help to the government.”
{{/usCountry}}Besides non-essential shops, vegetable and grocery stores also extended their timing of doing business after clarity from the PMC, which allowed these establishments to remain open for 12 hours from 7am. Huge crowd was seen at petrol pumps after Wednesday’s order by district collector Naval Kishore Ram allowing sale of fuel to everyone.
DMart at Aundh, which had downed its shutters after a staff was tested positive, opened its doors on Thursday.
Rupesh Junawane, resident of Aundh, said, “While many shops are opening, we request at least the libraries to open as it will keep the elders and children occupied.”
At Satara road, most shops except grocery stores were closed while on Bhau Patil road at Bopodi, almost all shops, barring medical stores, were shut. The only shop that was open was Rajan Coffee, a shop that specialises in south Indian grocery items.
Bhavesh Kumar Parit, who runs a laundry in Kothrud, said, “We have been shut for more than 40 days and now if we don’t open, it will adversely affect our business. Hence, we decided to open the shop after the PMC’s permission.”
At some places in the eastern parts of city, shopkeepers said they had to shut business by 12 noon as policemen turned up asking the establishments to shut operations before the 2pm deadline. “In Kothrud where I live, all non-essential shops were closed and even the supermarket selling grocery was shut down post noon by the police,” said Sneha Gore, professor.
Pune police chief K Venkatesham said that police are allowing shops to carry out business with all guidelines being followed. “Field staff has been intimated about the orders by municipal commissioner and district collector. Request social distance and personal hygiene measures,” tweeted Venkatesham.
The locals, however, differed. “When the policemen are asking us to shut down before deadline, we are confused over what orders are being issued and what is actually being implemented on ground. We want more confidence-building measures from the government through which we can open shops and conduct business. We want support from the government which will boost the confidence of traders doing business in green zones,” said Amit Prajapati, a super shoppe proprietor from Vimannagar.