Markets struggle with shopping rush as COVID-19 fear rises

However, the rising cases of coronavirus has become a source of panic and worry for the traders and the shop owners.
For representational purposes (File Photo | PTI)
For representational purposes (File Photo | PTI)

NEW DELHI:  With just a few days left for Diwali, the popular markets in the city are seeing a huge rush of people thronging for last minute shopping. On Tuesday and Wednesday, popular shopping markets such as Sarojini Nagar, Lajpat Nagar, and Sadar Bazar saw high numbers of footfalls. 

However, the rising cases of coronavirus has become a source of panic and worry for the traders and the shop owners. As social distancing and wearing a mask are going for a toss during the festive rush, the traders are finding it difficult to maintain safety norms.

“More than 50 per cent of the people are not wearing masks. We cannot stop people from coming into the market. People can hardly maintain social distancing inside shops or while walking in the market. As shop owners, we are constantly sanitising our shops, providing sanitisers to anyone who is entering. But then it is upto the people to choose between festivals and safety,” said Bansi Lal Arora, from Krishna Nagar Market Association.

Ashwani Marwah, General Secretary, Trader Association of Lajpat Nagar, said that the shop owners are more concerned about safety than making profit in the Diwali sale. “Diwali will again come next year, we all will get a chance to celebrate again. As of now, people’s priority should be saving lives. But the crowd we saw on the occasion of Karwa Chauth has alerted us to how people are likely to come shopping in the coming few days.

As an association we are constantly making announcements to maintain social distancing, have got sanitising booths and guards are constantly keeping an eye on people. But many people are not following the Covid norms,” he said. At Sadar Bazar, the crowd for Diwali shopping has been brought under control after the Delhi Police and state government took measures and restricted the market with limited shops. “In the past two days, sales have been down. There are not many customers...

As cases are rising, people are preferring to stay at home,” said Devraj Baweja, President of Sadar Bazar Market Association. Recently, the Delhi government has also put up testing camps and vans at market places in view of the large crowds. While Krishna Nagar Market has not got any such testing centres, vans and booths have been put up for testing purposes at Sadar Bazar and Lajpat Nagar markets.

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