No respite as lockdown measures extended, but Mumbai traders and retailers still hopeful

Customers queue up at a grain store in the city. Pic/Nimesh Dave

With non-essential services shut for standalone shops and imposition of a time limit for essential services in the state, retailers and traders have claimed that the decision has cost them Rs 24,000 crore. While lockdown measures have been extended for another two weeks, they are hopeful of some amendments coming in their way.

The shop owners say they have limited staff to cater to large crowds that assemble because of curtailed timings and that many customers show up after 9 am. As a result, they have to deal with chaos almost every day, they claim.

Shop owners protest the restrictions saying they will cripple their business. Pic/Ashish Raje

The community says it has sought waiver of licence fee and property tax apart from subsidies and monetary assistance for their employees.

While there were rumours of some relaxation for the community, the new notification released on Thursday evening simply extended the measures for another 15 days.

Shops with shutters half-open in Borivli. Pic/Satej Shinde

Viren Shah, who heads the Federation of Retailers and Traders Welfare Association, said, "We are expecting some respite this time around as we have been assured by the ministers that relief in the form of licence fee is being worked out by them. We also are hoping there is some relief for the essential service providers to open up in non-containment zones only. We have demanded that some relief be worked out for us as well and whether we are given any or not will be revealed only after notification is out."

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