KOLHAPUR: The strict order to keep all shops and establishments selling non-essential goods shut till April 30 — as part of the ‘Break the Chain’ initiative to contain the spread of Covid-19 — has met with resistance from the trading community in the state.
In Kolhapur, shop owners disregarded district collector Daulat Desai’s mandate and kept their businesses open on Tuesday. There was confusion in Aurangabad and Pune over the government order.
On Monday, the representatives of the Kolhapur Chamber of Commerce and Industries (KCCI) had met the authorities and warned that they would not follow the order and said shops would stay open on weekdays. The traders, however, assured to keep their businesses shut on Saturdays and Sundays as part of the weekend restrictions.
Kolhapur district guardian minister Satej Patil requested the Kolhapur traders to shut their shops on Tuesday after assuring them that a meeting with the district authorities will be called on Wednesday. Responding to the request, KCCI appealed to the traders to shut their shops by 3pm and they complied.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (MACCIA) on Tuesday gave a 48-hour ultimatum to the Uddhav Thackeray government to withdraw the order by 6pm on April 8. MACCIA president Santosh Mandlecha gave the ultimatum during an online meeting of representatives of different trade associations from Pune, Solapur, Kolhapur, Aurangabad, Nagpur, Gondia, Amravati and Mumbai. The resolution of the meeting is to be sent to CM Thackeray, deputy CM Ajit Pawar, chief secretary Sitaram Kunte and governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.
“If the government fails to withdraw its order, traders across the state will go ahead and open their shops,” Mandlecha told TOI. He appealed to the state government to come out with a more logical order.
Earlier, Mohan Gurnani, president of Chamber of Associations of Maharashtra Industry and Trade (CAMIT), said this was not a “chain breaking, but trade breaking” order.
Rajendra Bhatiya, Maharashtra president of Confederation of All-India Traders, said the state has allowed e-commerce and home delivery of food, but has ordered closure of non-essential shops. Bhatiya said they may consider moving court against the state government on this issue.
KCCI president Sanjay Shete said that the state government should either close all shops, or allow all to operate.
Many shopkeepers and vendors in Pune and Aurangabad opened their businesses in the morning. Ajay Shah, senior vice-president of the Chamber of Association of Maharashtra Industry and Trade, said the CM, in his recent public address, did not give any hint of a blanket closure of commercial establishments. “The prohibitory orders issued by the district administration failed to reach the shopkeepers and owners of different commercial establishments on time,” he said.
In Pune, garments and hardware shops in Kothrud, retailers in the Laxmi Road area, footwear shops on MG Road and shops in Kondhwa remained open on Tuesday. Some shopkeepers said they were confused about whether the shutdown was to be implemented only on weekends or throughout the month.
Fatehchand Ranka, president of the Federation of Trade Association Pune, said: “TV news had created this confusion. But all that was cleared in a meeting that the members held on Monday. These shopkeepers, who kept their shops open on Tuesday, were probably new or non-members. Keeping their shops open is not an act of defiance, but of survival. We are not going to tell anyone to shut their shops, they are keeping them open on their own discretion. The association will not interfere if any action is taken against them.”
Ranka said the entire business community is against the order to shut shops. They will be writing a letter to everyone, including the prime minister, chief minister, deputy chief minister, collector, commissioner, deputy commissioner, local MPs and MLAs, to review and reconsider the order.
“After we send the letters, we will be meeting and deciding on what further action needs to be taken,” he said.