AN INTERACTIVE meeting of cloth merchants and bullion traders was organised at Lakadganj Police Station. Lohit Matani, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 3) chaired the meeting. Present were Parag Pote, PI, Shankar B Sugandh, Kendriya Shantata Police Committee Member, Mahindra Katariya, Raju Acharya, Rajesh Rokde, Raju Maharaj, Mukesh Jain and others were present. Traders in the meeting raised question that when grocery, edible oil, grain and other markets were opened then why cloth and jewellery markets are being directed to down their shutters. “If we are allowed to open the shops, then coronavirus will spread otherwise, it will be in control. What is the logic behind it, we are not understanding,” Sugandh said.

 

“If we are ordered to close our shops, likewise, the administration should also disallow others to close their business activities. Why we should only suffer in the present lockdown,” he said.Traders said, they have pay taxes, bank loans and other obligations. They have to manage families. If their shops will be closed, then it will be difficult for them to survive. Traders said that they will hand over keys of their respective shops to Municipal Commissioner on April 9, 2021. After giving patient hearing to the problems of traders, Matani said, traders should follow all the COVID-19 related protocols.

 

They should not violate the rulings of the Government. Recently, a virtual meeting of Chief Minister UddhavThackeray was held with traders. He had demanded twodays time and had promised to give some relaxations. The demands of the traders will be conveyed to the concerned administration, Matani assured. Prominently present were Mahendra Sharma, Sunil Jaiswal, Sunil Jain, Ashish Kewalramani and others.