Traders unhappy with Delhi govt's odd-even Formula

New Delhi, Jun 8 (KNN) The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) is unhappy with the “odd-even” formula for the opening of shops  and has termed it as problematic for traders and consumers.

''The odd-even is a rejected formula as far as the trade is concerned in Delhi and rather staggered timings of different markets would have been the better option to not only reduce human traffic in the markets but also to provide ease of shopping to people of Delhi. It is highly regretted that so called Champion of " people's voice" the Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal never consulted any trade association of Delhi for this purpose and took a unilateral, arbitrary, biased and dictatorial decision without realising the practical aspects of this formula,'' said Praveen Khandelwal, Secretary General, CAIT on Monday.

It shows the scant respect and regard for the traders of Delhi in his mind. Better late than never, he must realise the problems of the traders and carve out a formula in consultation with representatives of Delhi trade for smooth functioning of trade in Delhi and thereby accruing better revenue to the Delhi Government, he added.

The  traders' body said that after being closed for nearly 50 days, markets in Delhi opened today following the “odd-even” formula prescribed by Delhi Government while traders sanitized and made all social distancing protocols in order to contain any spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

''However, the shops did open in Delhi today on odd-even formula basis but most of the markets wore a deserted look since the traders were more busy in beginning shop cleaning operations and on the other hand, the consumers also did not show any keen interest in visiting markets probably due to fear factor from coronavirus,'' he said.

He further said that during a period of two months, from 1st April, 2021 to 31st May, 2021, the Delhi trade has reported a business loss of more than Rs. 40 thousand crores. It’s a big blow to business activities in Delhi and the Delhi Government should carve out a financial package for traders to help them in overcoming the financial distress.

Khandelwal said that shops that had opened on Monday were gripped with confusion about the applicability of odd-even formula in Delhi. As per Delhi Government unlock order, the shops which are having odd property numbers are allowed to open on odd days whereas on the other hand, the shops bearing the even number are allowed to open on even number day which means odd number shops having last number as 1,3,5,7 and 9 & likewise shops bearing even numbers 0,2,4,6,8 as the last number will open on their respective odd-even days.

''Though the Delhi traders are totally unhappy with odd-even formula but saying that " something is better than nothing", the CAIT has advised traders across Delhi to adhere to SOPs including thermal scanning, social distancing, wearing double masks and face shields at all times to protect themselves, their employees and the customers from covid infection,'' Khandelwal added.