Mumbai: Lockdown 5.0 and Unlock 2.0 seem to have created more confusion than clarity for the man on the street with the small shopkeeper and the trading community bearing the brunt of these conflicting government orders. While the state’s Mission Begin Again 2.0 eased travelling for work, it restricted travelling within a 2 Km radius zone.
Mumbai has 1,00,460 shops registered with it under the Maharashtra Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Condition of Services) Act, 2017 including 14,438 shops that hire more than ten employees. Apart from providing a source of employment, these shops also play an important role in strengthening our economy.
Kirti Shah, convenor of the Akhil Bhandup Vyapari Association, representing over 2000 small shops in this suburb says: “The guidelines on lockdown keep changing very often with the lower-rung officials themselves quite often unaware of what is allowed and what is not. It’s not possible for small time shopkeepers to keep up breast of the latest circulars and rumor mongering on social media only adds to the chaos. It’s not uncommon to have officials suddenly turn up and insist on some restriction.” Shah says that in such a scenario, for small shops, dependent on daily earnings, sustenance has become difficult.
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At times, the state guidelines tend to work at cross purposes. Shah says that sweet shops are worst affected since they deal with perishable items and opening up only for alternate days, hurts them badly.
“Normally, most shops open around 11 am and get maximum customers at evenings when office-goers purchase on their way back home. With shop timings now changed from 9 am to 5 pm, we lose even the low footfalls that shops get these days. Also, while the Agricultural Market Produce Committee (APMC) markets are open, security restrictions translates into less customers visiting there since not all have passes. General supplies shortage disproportionate to market demands has also led to hike in prices in the market,” says Mohan Gurnani, Chamber of Associations of Maharashtra Industry and Trade (CAMIT), an umbrella body of about 750 trade organisations from across Maharashtra, told thenews21.com.
Also, while shops are allowed to be kept open, restrictions on people’s movement have majorly affected the inflow of customers at the electronic shops market at Lamington Road. President of the All India Electronics Association that has over 1200 members, Mitesh Modi says that every announcement of the government is awaited with much nervousness in the market in these Covid times. “Many of our electronic shops in Lamington Road are closed because owners and staffers, who stay in distant suburbs are unable to reach here due to lack of transportation.
Though laptops and tablets are in huge demand due to spike in online work and education, we are unable to tap into them, since customers are unable to visit us and end up ordering online,” he says. The clouds of war with China and heavy dependence on Chinese imports only add to their concerns.
“Much of our consignment is blocked in cargo or harbor or in transit from China, thus affecting our cash flow. People need to understand that this is India’s loss, not China’s because we have already paid for those orders. With electronics and electronic accessories heavily dependent on Chinese imports, the speech of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 30, was watched with much trepidation due to impending fears of a ban on Chinese imports, something the market cannot afford at this stage,” says Mitesh Modi.
