HYDERABAD: Shops and establishments near Charminar shut business on Saturday to mark the on-going protests against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
Shop owners are likely to incur severe losses due to the decision. The shops in the area sell pearl jewellery, clothes, bangles, perfumes and hand bags, among others. Some even do business of `50-60 lakh per day. The losses maybe more keeping in mind the weekend rush. “We want to express our solidarity for the protests and that is why we have shut down our shops,” said Mirza Baig, a shopkeeper selling garments.
Mukaram Iqbal of Minar Book Centre brushed aside the issue of profits and loss and said it was decided by all shopkeepers in the area to shut shops as a mark of protest against the CAA and NRC.However, Fayaaz of Tazeen Bangles, who has a shop in Laad Bazaar, alleged that it was the police that had asked them to close their shops.
“Why will we close shops out of our own volition on a weekend where we get bigger business? The police asked us to close it down in view of some protests in the area,” said Fayaaz.An officer from Charminar police station,however, denied the claims and said there was no directive from them to do the same. “The shops were closed voluntarily and also because MIM is holding a public meeting in Darussalam”, he said. Protests against the CAA and NRC were also conducted in other parts of the city, including at the hockey ground in Masab Tank. Students of Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU), who have been protesting since the introduction of Citizen Amendment Bill in the Parliament, continued their protests on Saturday.