NOIDA/GHAZIABAD: With an alarming rise in COVID cases in the second wave, one would think that people understand the gravity of the virus and will follow the proper practice of social distancing as a sacred law of existence.
However, if the views from the city’s popular markets are any evidence, this is not the case.
Despite several complaints to the administration and fines imposed by the police, Markets in Noida and Ghaziabad Living in a crowd
When a team of Times of India visited these markets on Monday evening, people had flooded the market areas including Atta, Sector 27 and Sector 8.
According to shop owners, crowding in these markets is a regular affair as people require their daily supplies.
“The crowd started increasing as soon as the markets were allowed to open. People cannot hold stocks for long. Most of the people in this area have to buy their supplies daily as they do not earn much. Being a customer is good for us and since most people have already been infected with Covid, the fear is less,” said Hiralal Kumar, a vendor in Sector 8.
Other shop owners said that even after the complaint, the crowd in the market has not reduced and strict action is needed.
“After complaining last time, the police started challaning people. But as long as the number of unauthorized street vendors continues to increase in the area, the crowd will remain uncontrolled. Only shops can count the entrants, but vendors cannot,” said CB Jha, president of Atta Market Association.
Local people have also complained to the administration regarding the crowd. He said that while neighboring Delhi is shutting down markets from time to time to control the crowd, no such step has been taken in Noida. “Social distancing needs to be strictly enforced if people are not doing it themselves. We are just waiting for the third wave to arrive. This rush is just like the spread of infection in most of the cases,” said Amit Gupta, a resident of Sector 77.
GB Nagar district magistrate Suhas LY said that the police have been asked to act, but if the Covid protocol is not followed, more stringent measures including shutting down the markets may be considered.
The state government has recently decided that there will be night curfew from 10 pm to 6 am from Monday. Earlier it was from 9 am to 7 am. However, the relaxations have little effect on congestion in busy markets.
Meanwhile, traders said the relaxation in night curfew timings would have minimal impact on business or crowd management. Besides, traders have claimed losses and want the weekend lockdown to be lifted.
“We were really hopeful that the weekend curfew would now end. Since this is not happening, many businesses are suffering huge losses. The government should reconsider its decision, especially for places like Noida which are very close to Delhi. If there is a weekend lockdown, then the customers will go towards Delhi. This is not only causing loss to traders but also loss of revenue to the government which is going to Delhi instead of Uttar Pradesh,” said SK Jain, president of Sector 18 Market Association.
However, if the views from the city’s popular markets are any evidence, this is not the case.
Despite several complaints to the administration and fines imposed by the police, Markets in Noida and Ghaziabad Living in a crowd
When a team of Times of India visited these markets on Monday evening, people had flooded the market areas including Atta, Sector 27 and Sector 8.
According to shop owners, crowding in these markets is a regular affair as people require their daily supplies.
“The crowd started increasing as soon as the markets were allowed to open. People cannot hold stocks for long. Most of the people in this area have to buy their supplies daily as they do not earn much. Being a customer is good for us and since most people have already been infected with Covid, the fear is less,” said Hiralal Kumar, a vendor in Sector 8.
Other shop owners said that even after the complaint, the crowd in the market has not reduced and strict action is needed.
“After complaining last time, the police started challaning people. But as long as the number of unauthorized street vendors continues to increase in the area, the crowd will remain uncontrolled. Only shops can count the entrants, but vendors cannot,” said CB Jha, president of Atta Market Association.
Local people have also complained to the administration regarding the crowd. He said that while neighboring Delhi is shutting down markets from time to time to control the crowd, no such step has been taken in Noida. “Social distancing needs to be strictly enforced if people are not doing it themselves. We are just waiting for the third wave to arrive. This rush is just like the spread of infection in most of the cases,” said Amit Gupta, a resident of Sector 77.
GB Nagar district magistrate Suhas LY said that the police have been asked to act, but if the Covid protocol is not followed, more stringent measures including shutting down the markets may be considered.
The state government has recently decided that there will be night curfew from 10 pm to 6 am from Monday. Earlier it was from 9 am to 7 am. However, the relaxations have little effect on congestion in busy markets.
Meanwhile, traders said the relaxation in night curfew timings would have minimal impact on business or crowd management. Besides, traders have claimed losses and want the weekend lockdown to be lifted.
“We were really hopeful that the weekend curfew would now end. Since this is not happening, many businesses are suffering huge losses. The government should reconsider its decision, especially for places like Noida which are very close to Delhi. If there is a weekend lockdown, then the customers will go towards Delhi. This is not only causing loss to traders but also loss of revenue to the government which is going to Delhi instead of Uttar Pradesh,” said SK Jain, president of Sector 18 Market Association.
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