Allow shops to operate till 8pm, say Kolhapur traders

KOLHAPUR: The Kolhapur Chamber of Commerce and Industries (KCCI), the apex body of traders, on Monday, asked the administration to allow them to operate all shops till 8 pm and cancel the weekend lockdown.
The delegation of the KCCI met district collector Rahul Rekhawar on Monday. The traders said chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, during his visit to Kolhapur last week, had assured relaxations to the traders if the Covid positivity rate reduced further.
The Covid positivity rate in Kolhapur district has reduced to 4% and, therefore, the restrictions should be eased, said the traders.
Sanjay Shete, the president of KCCI said, “Trading from the entire district had come to a halt for over a week due to floods. At the time of CM’s visit, we were assured that there will be relaxation in the Covid restrictions. Accordingly, we put forward the demand to relax the restrictions for business activities like allow shops to open till 8 pm and cancel the weekend lockdown.”
Rekhawar assured the traders to put the demands before the government at the earliest and appealed to the traders’ representatives to follow the Covid restriction.
Meanwhile, small traders from Shahupuri and Laxmipuri on Monday threatened to go on strike if the restrictions are not relaxed. They were the most affected by the recent floods. The traders said putting up petitions to the government does not seem to work so taking to the streets is the only way to be heard. They will be meeting on Tuesday to take a call over the idea of an indefinite strike