Govt must give a level playing field to traders

People seen waiting outside a wine store in Byculla on Saturday morning. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

Retail store owners who have been forced to down shutters in the lockdown starting mid-April are spewing ire. These retailers who sell non-essential items like make-up, garments and shoes have been told to close by the state government. Brick ‘n' mortar stores selling essentials are allowed to remain open for a few hours in the morning.

They closed but there was a condition that e-commerce platforms should also be disallowed from selling non-essential goods. Traders and retailers cited the huge blow to business and said that digital players too be forced not to deliver goods in the non-essential category to bring some parity. To level the playing field as a report said in this paper.

After a few days of compliance, e-commerce platforms have removed the non-deliverable from their websites and have started delivering some non-essentials like bags and footwear. This has naturally riled the retailers who are writing in to the state about the blatant violation.

The government needs to step in to ensure there is compliance to rules. By keeping silent, or turning a blind eye, authorities are sending a message that there are rules for some during the outbreak, that they have fines and even jail terms for others but some are getting away with cocking a snook at those in charge. This is a shocking oversight as somebody should have ensured that e-commerce platforms stick to the rules.

We have seen zealous workers patrol the streets and move in quickly if a shop breaches the 11-am rule. Vigilance is welcome and necessary in these times but that should extend to all players. Resentment and bitterness at the discrimination festers if not addressed and can one day snowball into a bigger problem, something the city can ill afford in these challenging times.