Traders' bandh may cause Rs 1,500 cr loss

Nearly 700,000 shops and allied establishments in the national capital are estimated to incur a loss of around Rs 1,500 crore (Rs 15 billion) during the three-day strike from October 30 to November 1 called by the Confederation of All India Traders and supported by various other trade associations.

The Delhi government stands to lose around Rs 15 crore (Rs 150 million) per day that it normally collects as value added tax, excluding the revenue from petrol and diesel sales, on account of the strike.

A senior government official said Delhi's monthly VAT collection stood at around Rs 600 crore (Rs 6 billion), including the Rs 130 crore (Rs 1.3 billion) collected from the sale of petrol and diesel.

The strike is being organised to oppose the sealing of commercial establishments functioning in residential areas. It was likely to have a massive impact on the city, said Praveen Khandelwal, general secretary of the traders body.

Delhi had 10 lakh (1 million) commercial units, of which around 700,000 shops would be closed during the strike, he added. These shops were under threat of being sealed. Even chemists had decided to join the strike since many of their shops were located in residential areas and building basements.

At the same time, it is likely that some chemists will keep their shops open for two hours every day during the strike. Nursing homes, hospitals, fuel vends, gas agencies and other utilities providing essential services would also remain open, the traders body added.

In the last 11 months since the sealing drive started, the total business of traders in the city had gone down by 60 to 70 per cent, he said.

"It is not the traders' fault that there are shops in residential areas. Commercial space has not been developed in Delhi and even the government has accepted that it had developed only 16 per cent of the total commercial space in the city," Khandelwal added.

Late Sunday, the trade bodies confirmed that the three-day strike would begin on  Monday. Delhi Medical Association has also decided to support the strike by hoisting black flags at nursing homes and clinics. On November 1, doctors might stop OPD if need rose, Khandelwal said.

The traders will picket the Delhi Assembly on the first day of the strike, and on the next two days hold demonstrations and rallies in city markets, he said.