KOCHI: The ‘Break the Lock’ agitation called by Kerala Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samiti (KVVES) and Kerala Merchants Chamber of Commerce (KMCC) on Monday saw all merchants in the district shutting their establishments.The protest was against the “apathy” of the state government towards traders in announcing Covid relief packages. “There are more than 25,000 merchants in the district.
The agitation was a success with all traders downing their shutters. Only medical shops and petrol bunks functioned,” said KMCC president G Karthikeyan. “Our protest is to highlight the impracticality of the lockdown restrictions when it comes to the trading community,” he said. Every merchant association took part in the agitation and organised dharnas in Kochi and other places.
KVVES district general secretary A J Riyas said though Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has been holding media briefings every day to give daily Covid updates, he has not made any announcement to help the trading community, till date. "This despite the sector giving employment to many,” said Riyas.
According to Karthikeyan, the government has been taking care of even the migrant community. “It allowed the construction sector to function and even gave permission for the associated shops to function. But it forgot the more than one lakh people who earn a livelihood by working in various shops and trading centres,” he added. He further said the traders had made various demands during the past one-and-a-half years, but the government turned a deaf ear towards them.
“We wanted the government to allow us to open our shops based on specific timings and in keeping with the Covid protocol,” he said.“The lockdown period has seen a boom in online business. Although it is a boon for the customers, it is beset with many issues. There were many instances wherein customers were taken for a ride. So, online businesses need to be controlled during the lockdown period,” said Karthikeyan.