The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on Tuesday appealed to the Union government for assistance. It also warned that with massive losses, thousands of traders stand to shut shops permanently as a consequence of the nationwide lockdown.
“Ever since the lockdown was imposed on March 24, the Indian retail sector has lost a gigantic sum of approximately ₹5.50 lakh crore in this period and is likely to witness at least 20% of Indian retailers collapse and wind up their businesses in the next few months” the group said in a statement.
The confederation appealed to the government to “handhold the trading community and award a substantial package to the traders to ensure their survival.”
According to CAIT’s estimate, nearly 1.5 crore traders would have to down their shutter permanently while a further 75 lakh traders who are dependent on them would have to fold up in the medium term.
The union’s spokesperson said that small traders in the country would not have the capital to see through extended lockdowns. “On the one hand they are having to pay salaries, rentals, other monthly expenses and on the other hand they will have to deal with a sharp dip in disposable income of consumers along with strict social distancing norms which will not allow business to return to normalcy for at least 6-9 months” the CAIT said.