Jaipur markets in ‘self-lockdown’ mode over spike in Covid cases

JAIPUR: Due to the rising number of coronavirus cases in the city, many trade associations in Jaipur have voluntarily decided to shut the market early from Friday onwards.
Raja Park Market Association president Ravi Naiyar said, “The number of cases is rising every day, so we have decided to shut the market by 8pm and re-open next day by 11 am. On Sunday, Raja Park market will remain completely shut. It is better this way with some rules and regulations.”
Jayanti Market Traders’ Association member Mahendra Jain said, “Our market will open at 11 am and close at 7pm. On Sunday, the market will remain closed. We are expecting that there will be resistance from a few businessmen, but we will try to persuade them. The number of cases is rising and being in public contact for very long time makes it risky for us and the customers as well.”
Markets were shut from March 28 to June 30 till the state was under complete lockdown. However, with the relaxations in the lockdown rules, people started to come out and shops started opening up. Although the footfall is still low, markets are open and social distancing has become a problem. At present, Jaipur has more than 4,000 active cases.
Subhash Goyal, president of Jaipur Vyapaar Mandal, said that they are working on to implement this rule in the entire city. “Government has not made any norm regarding this but market associations, looking at the risk involved are voluntarily taking steps to shut down the market early. We have called a meeting of Jaipur Vyapaar Mandal on Sunday and this will be an important issue. We can implement this rule in the entire city markets as well,” said Goyal.
Other market associations that have imposed such rule are Jhotwara, Raja Park, Mahesh Nagar, Sanjay Bazaar and Bapu Nagar.