NEW DELHI: Even a day after the DDMA passed the order to discontinue the odd-even ordinance and the weekend curfew in light of declining Covid cases, hardly any crowds were noticed in the markets and restaurants.
Vikas Verma, a clothing store owner at Sarojini Nagar market, said, he see no change in business before or after the odd-even rule. “Maybe the crowds have got divided between all the shops as all of them have opened… We will get to know the exact situation after a day or two.”
However, a street vendor in the same market said he made good business during the odd-even rule. “The shops were closed and all the customers would come to buy from us. Our business has slowed down, but I am happy that everyone is getting to reopen their shops."
Shopkeepers in Lajpat Nagar are happy they can conduct their business again. “However, business is still slow. It will take time to retrieve our losses. This was just the first day after the Covid curbs were removed. Even the malls witnessed low crowds and fewer goods getting sold.
Restaurants had very few dine-ins, especially because they have to follow 50 per cent capacity as Covid protocol,” said a shopkeeper in the area. “But in my opinion, 100 per cent dining should be allowed as we suffered enough losses throughout the Covid period,” said the owner of a small eatery here.
Other restaurateurs echoed the same point, stating there was nothing to worry about if cafes and restaurants ran full capacity with strict adherence to Covid precautions. Many business owners said it was a great decision taken by the L-G, given that Covid cases in the city are decreasing.
The heavily-crowded markets of Chandni Chowk and Sadar Bazaar were seen faring better than their above counterparts and getting back on track with sales.
Dinesh Arora, Managing Committee Member of the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI-Delhi chapter), expressing happiness over the government’s decision said, “Keeping in mind the declining Covid cases, the government has rightly taken the decision to open the restaurants. We will open from January 31, and have called back the staff, who will hopefully return by Sunday.”
Lt Governor Anil Baijal, who chaired the 32nd meeting of DDMA to review the Covid situation on Thursday, had said, “After detailed discussions with experts, in view of the decline in positive cases, it was decided to gradually ease restrictions while ensuring adherence to Covid appropriate behaviour.”
Metro services to resume on weekends as per timetable
NEW DELHI: Starting today, Delhi Metro Rail Cooperation (DMRC) will resume services as per its routine weekend timetable on all lines. However, minor changes in services on the Yellow Line are expected as announced earlier, owing to the Beating Retreat Ceremony scheduled for today.
Metro services at Central Secretariat and Udyog Bhawan stations of Yellow Line — Line 2 (HUDA City Centre-Samaypur Badli) will pause between 2 pm and 6:30 pm. In this period, interchange of passengers from Yellow Line to Violet Line, Line 6 (Kashmere Gate to Raja Nahar Singh), and vice versa will be allowed at Central Secretariat. Guidelines of 100 per cent seating capacity with no standing will continue.
The metro gates which were closed will remain shut till further orders. DMRC urged passengers to factor in extra time for their commute and cooperate with authorities.