Chamber of Trade & Industry (CTI) chairman Brijesh Goyal claimed on Sunday that Delhi’s trading sector incurred an estimated loss of ₹ 10,000 to ₹ 11,000 crore due to the disruptions caused by the INDIA bloc’s November 1 mega rally at Ramlila Maidan against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Earlier last month, after Rahul Gandhi announced the ‘Chalo Dilli’ march and the mega rally at Ramlila Maidan, the CTI had flagged concerns over parking as well. They had flagged concerns about the closure of shops and disruptions to transport services. The CTI had already urged postponing the rally until after Diwali.
They had stated that Ramlila Maidan does not have the capacity to accommodate even 200 large buses, and that such a huge event could create lockdown-like conditions in central and old Delhi. The CTI chairman’s remarks after the traders’ body wrote a fourth letter to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi , who led the mega rally, on Sunday morning.
Not just the owners of the shops, but roughly three to four lakh customers, suppliers, and dealers who usually travel from small towns in and around Delhi also did not show up for business, Goyal claimed. “Even where shops remained open, sales were virtually non-existent; there were simply no customers. Union minister JP Nadda also slammed Rahul Gandhi for showing little concern for small traders and businessmen during the festive season, saying the Congress-led INDIA bloc did not defer the rally despite repeated appeals by the CTI. Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury also rubbished the BJP’s remarks that the opposition’s rally would harm local businesses in Delhi, calling it “false rumours.
The CTI chairman further said that around 5,000 vehicles transporting goods from various industrial areas and transport hubs in the national capital also could not function. As a result, the trading sector in Delhi has suffered a loss of roughly 10,000 to 11,000 crore rupees,” Goyal said.
Goyal said that about 80 per cent of the shops — around 2.5 to 3 lakh — in the vicinity of Ramlila Maidan remained closed on Sunday due to the “panic” spread over the past few days about 1 million people participating in the opposition bloc’s rally. She said the opposition leaders had called on people to shop for the festival season at local markets.
