Thane: Allow non-essential shops to operate 4 hours daily, says BJP

Shops at Crawford market wear a deserted look. Pic/Suresh Karkera

The Thane BJP on Tuesday urged the district administration to allow all non-essential shops to operate for at least four hours in a day to minimise the impact of the fresh COVID-19-related restrictions on small traders and businesses.

A delegation of the Thane BJP met district collector Rajesh Narvekar and submitted a memorandum in this regard. The delegation was led by Thane city BJP president and MLC Niranjan Davkhare and local MLA Sanjay Kelkar.

In the memorandum, the BJP said traders suffered heavy losses during the coronavirus-triggered lockdown last year and the latest curbs will ruin them. Hence, all non-essential shops should be allowed to operate for at least four hours in a day, it said.

Later, talking to the media, Davkhare said the BJP will continue to support traders and shopkeepers of the city, which has been witnessing a sharp spike in daily COVID-19 cases along with other parts of Maharashtra.

The Maharashtra government has announced a weekend lockdown and night curfew during the weekdays from April 5 to April 30, in addition to a slew of other restrictions like closure of private offices, theatres and salons to curb the unprecedented surge in COVID-19 cases.

The weekend lockdown will start from 8 pm on Fridays and last till 7 am on Mondays. Besides, prohibitory orders will be in force during daytime on weekdays.

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