Pratap Motwani, General Secretary of The Whole Sale Grains and Seed Merchant Association and associated with various business organizations including social, political, religious and member of ZRUCC, Nagpur, today raised his voice by tweeting to Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray. He said that forcibly closing the shops of Vidarbha cities including Nagpur, was unjustified. He has strongly opposed it and said that due to such a wrong policy of the Government, traders will be ruined not by the Corona, but by the financial crisis.
Motwani said that the increase in cases after the lockdown is large, that corona will not deducted from the closure of the shops. He ridiculed the possibilities of spread of corona through shops. The business class has been shaken by the lockdown throughout the year.
Business is on the verge of collapse. The situation has barely improved. The Government has asked for forcible closure of shops at the time of festivals of Holi, Gudipadwa and its also the time of March closing. Motwani told that the shops are closed, but how the merchant should bear the expenses. Paying of EMI interest, Rent, Bills, salaries, School fees, Basic Needs Expenses, Interests on loans, Property tax, Petrol, cooking gas and many more. Moreover, the wages of its employees etc. and all the taxes of the Government are also going on at the time of lockdown.
Motwani added that an officer holding constitutional post issued an order saying, ‘Keep everything closed’. It’s locked down. And then later their officers come and say to the merchants stop everything. Have the administration thought about businessmen and the general public? Motwani asked, “ Already after a year, traders are living with great difficulties. How will they bear these expenses. Traders are still receiving notice of confiscation of properties, power cut, etc. The lockdown decision was taken by the administration is beyond comprehension, but the imposition of Lockdown means that the administration failed to stop Corona. “He again questions Why was all this stopped by the administration. Are only merchants responsible for increasing in Corona’s cases? Do Government officials and employees take precautions to protect themselves from the corona? Do they use masks in the office? Do you keep distance with each other in the meeting held in the offices? What could be the result of small and medium shopkeepers by keeping the business completely closed, perhaps the administration could not guess it. Will the administration compensate for the salaries of those whose shops are rented and those who employ 2 to 8 employees? What about everyday workers? The public is still facing the tragedy of huge electricity bill and full fees of schools and colleges.
The wound from the earlier lockdown was not healed and the administration has issued an order for another lockdown to sprinkle salt on the wound. What about the businessmen and employees sitting idle at home? The administration is worried about the increasing cases from Corona and it is being taken seriously, so why are Government offices being started? When people are not allowed to move out of their houses, for whom are the offices being started? Is the administration concerned about the income of the people or themselves, and what about the income of the businessmen and the public?
In the coming days, the economic condition of the city will deteriorate as well as crime will increase. There will also be a rift in mutual disputes and relationships over money transactions. Motwani has appealed to the Chief Minister that permission should be given to open shops from 10 am to 7 pm on other days except on Saturday and Sunday, or the businessmen should discuss this with them and the administration should remove the option by not imposing a lockdown.
