Traders suffer Rs 3,000 crore loss over Delhi protests: Industry body

New Delhi, October 17 (IANS) Traders' body Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) on Saturday flagged losses to traders due to continuous protests in the national capital, saying businesses suffered a loss of about Rs 3,000 crore so far due to protests in the month with supply chains also disrupted due to road closures.CTI Chairman Brijesh Goyal said, "The first protest on October 10 caused a loss of Rs 2,000 crore and the blockade, metro closure and Central Park closure in Central Delhi between October 13 and 16 caused an additional loss of Rs 1,000 crore."The industry body further noted that the retail sector has suffered the most due to shopping coming to a halt during the peak Navratri and Diwali season with losses of around Rs 1,800 crore.This has affected more than 700 markets in Delhi, including Sadar Bazar, Chandni Chowk, Kashmiri Gate, Chawri Bazar, Bhagirath Place, Gandhi Nagar, Naya Bazar, Khari Baoli, Karawal Nagar, Karol Bagh, Lajpat Rai Market and Connaught Place.Meanwhile, wholesale trade has suffered a loss of about Rs 600 crore due to 3-4 lakh wholesale buyers from Sonipat, Panipat, Gurugram, Faridabad, Noida, Ghaziabad and Rajasthan not coming to Delhi, it said.Moreover, supply chains have also broken down due to halt in movement of trucks, leaving goods prepared for festivals lying in warehouses, it added.Apart from this, CTI said the hospitality and service sector has suffered a loss of Rs 300 crore, transport, auto-taxi and tourism Rs 180 crore and the informal sector (daily wagers, artisans, loading workers) Rs 120 crore due to these protests."Navratri, Ramleela and Diwali are the only month for us to earn for the whole year. If protests continue every week, the loss will cross Rs 10,000 crore by Diwali," Goyal said.CTI demanded that the government completely ban any dharna-protest in Central Delhi, New Delhi and Lutyens' Zone till Diwali. A protest zone should be created in outer Delhi like Burari, Rohini, Dwarka for the future, it said.It also demanded a relief package for traders for the Rs 3,000 crore loss incurred in October, with exemption from electricity and water bills and GST.Also, police administration should not pressurise shopkeepers to forcibly close shops but provide security to keep markets open, it added.