Hyderabad: With the spike in Covid-19 cases, traders in Begum Bazaar and Lad Bazaar have decided to close their shops voluntarily for a week. Lad Bazaar will close from Friday, while the kirana shops in Begum Bazaar will close from Sunday.
At a meeting of the Hyderabad Kirana Merchants’ Association, the rising number of Corona cases was discussed and the members decided to close all shops from June 28 to July 5.
President of the Association, Laxminarayan Rathi, announced the closure of the shops in Begum Bazaar and Siddiamber Bazaar. There are 500 shops in these two bazaars.
“Earlier, we had reduced business hours from 9 am to 3 pm. The virus has spread everywhere and we do not know who is affected by it. It has become risky to do business in these conditions. We have advised all merchants who developed Covid-19 symptoms to go into self-isolation and resume business only when they recover fully,” Mr Rathi said
Likewise, traders of Lad Bazaar, famous for bangles, have decided to down shutters for a week from Friday. President of the Lad Bazaar Merchants’ Association, Mustafa Ali Muzaffar, who is also the Shalibanda corporator, said seven merchants had died of Covid-19 and 20 were affected. The merchants have decided to close the shops in Lad Bazaar and Julu Khana for a week.
Lad Bazaar Welfare Association general secretary Mohammed Ayub said the government had imposed the lockdown for two months when the number of deaths was small. “Nowadays, the toll has increased manifold, but the government is not ready to revoke Unlock 1. Our hospitals are not in a position to provide healthcare. This initiative will help in containing the pandemic,” he said.
