For Delhi traders, its time to go extreme

October 26, 2006	(Be the first to rate this story!)  Loading ...
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The Delhi Traders Association has decided that it’s high time now to take some intense steps against the sealing drive which is scheduled to restart from November 1.

The association has called for a complete strike where all Delhi markets will be shut from October 30^th to November 1^st.

Threatening to go on an indefinite strike, traders have also planned to gherao the Delhi assembly on October 30, when the assembly session starts.

It is reported that around 44,000 shops will be forced to shut down when the sealing drive starts on November 1^st.

Continuing on its usual note, the Delhi Government promises to solve the issue soon. Chief Minister of Delhi, Shiela Dixit says, “All options to give relief to the traders will be looked into in the sealing issue”

But instead of cooling down the temperatures, such non-committal promises have only added to the flame. The infuriated traders are now determined to fight the battle on their own and take extreme steps.

In fact, the whole issue has been mishandled in such a way that the traders are viewing it as a punishment for following the law.

The Supreme Court had ordered the shopkeepers in residential areas to file an affidavit declaring their business to be illegal. They were granted temporary permission to continue their business.

Now, these 44,000 shopkeepers who filed an affidavit that time are facing the axe and will have to shut down their shops when the sealing drive starts.

Contrary to this, those who did not file an affidavit can stay in business till February 2007, when the court will finally decide on whether shops can operate in neighborhoods.

“Why are those who filed the affidavits being targeted is that the price you pay for following the law,” said a trader.

Kapil Bhatia, owns a garment showroom in Delhi’s Greater Kailash, area because he filed an affidavit he has less than a week to clear out or be forced shut.

He has 50 workers to look after a business that’s in jeopardy and no place to move to.

“We cannot move to malls because they are three times more expensive,” said Bhatia.

Show of unity

For traders like him, this may be a show of unity, but it is already clear that everyone will not participate in the strike. “I will not shut shop it’s inconvenient for the public,” said traders.

The Supreme Court has already refused to reconsider its order against traders who filed affidavits.

News Published Under:   Real Estate India, Delhi |