New Delhi: Even as the Delhi Disaster Management Authority decided to continue with the weekend curbs in the city along with a host of other restrictions despite objections from the Delhi government, the business fraternity in the city has now threatened to hold protests over the decision.
And while the Delhi government has called L-G Anil Baijal's decision "unfortunate", the Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri and the New Delhi Municipal Council have also asked the L-G to reconsider the decision.
Functionaries of the Chamber of Traders Industry (CTI) said they will stage protests across Delhi if the DDMA does not reverse the decision in the next two to three days.
CTI chairman Brijesh Goyal in a statement said Delhi's 20 lakh traders are deeply disappointed by Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal's decision. The lieutenant governor heads DDMA, the highest decision-making body on COVID-19-related issues.
We request DDMA chairman LG Anil Baijal to remove the odd-even and weekend curfew keeping in mind the livelihood of 20 lakh traders and their 40 lakh employees. If there is no relief in the next two-three days, the CTI will agitate with traders from all over Delhi, Goyal stated.
The Lajpat Nagar traders' association president Pankaj Sharma told Millennium Post said that either the odd-even opening of shops and commercial establishments needs to stop immediately or the weekend curfew. "We are hoping that the government removes the curbs so that work can thrive because at the moment we are losing 60 percent of the business," Sharma said.
Meanwhile, the national general secretary of the Confederation of All India Traders, Praveen Khandelwal
said that traders are unhappy too and that the positivity percentage and the restrictions should go hand-in-hand. Traders across the city are unhappy too as they have seen losses of 50-60 percent in their businesses.
New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) vice-chairman Satish Upadhyay wrote to Baijal to review the odd-even policy for certain businesses. Upadhyay mentioned in his letter that metro and buses are operating with full capacity and as per the latest report of the Delhi government, the numbers of cases are also reducing day by day.
The Delhi government, too, said it was unfortunate that the lieutenant governor turned down the traders' demand. And even as the Delhi BJP chief too sought that restrictions be eased, he has chosen to blame the Delhi government for it.
Furthermore, the Aam Aadmi Party alleged that the decision of the L-G, an appointee of the BJP-ruled Union government, purportedly showed the BJP's insensitivity towards the city's business community. He asked when markets and shops are being allowed to operate with precautions in Noida and Gurugram, why should Delhi not be allowed the same privilege.
Sources in the L-G's office have said that the decision was taken because the city was still reporting around 12,000 cases per day with a positivity rate of around 20 per cent and that the decision will be reviewed when these two indices decline further.
However, with Delhi reporting around 10,000 cases on Friday and the positivity rate coming down to 18 per cent, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority is likely to take a look at the call once again at a meeting next week
Meanwhile, the Delhi government is expected to hold a meeting today (Saturday) to review the Covid situation, with senior officials saying Deputy CM Manish Sisodia and Health Minister Satyendar Jain will discuss bringing more relaxations to help businesses in the city. "Some measures need to be brought in to help businesses," the official said.
With inputs from Aaisha Sabir