Mumbai: Upset shopkeepers say current timings impractical; demand 5-day weeks, afternoon work hours

On Day One of the leftright rule for shops selling nonessential products BMC ward offices were in chaos Fuming shopowners opposed to the alternateday operations based on the side of the road they are on descended on ward offices for clarity on Tuesday Traders argued that the formula did not work last June eitherA clothing store reopened in Lalbaug on Tuesday PicsBipin KokateThe retailers association has demanded that shops be allowed to open for five days a week with extended times suitable for customersShops selling nonessential products have been shut for the past monthandahalf amid lockdownlike restrictions brought on by the second Covid19 wave While the state government has allowed such shops to open the civic body has put certain restrictionsAlso Read Mumbai Relaxations for shops but movement still curbedHow will clients rememberAs per the civic bodyrsquos notification on Monday shops selling nonessentials on one side of the road will remain open on Monday Wednesday and Friday and shops on another side will remain open on Tuesday and ThursdayIn the following week the days will be reversed They can operate only between 7 am and 2 pmldquoNo one had a clue which shops should open on Tuesday morning The notifications from wards came in the afternoon And such a formula didnrsquot work in June 2020 also How will customers remember which shops open on which daysrdquo said a shopkeeper in DadarldquoThe formula is clear and it is to maintain social distancing All shopkeepers will get equal opportunity to open their shops they just have to wait for another weekrdquo said a ward officer from western suburbsShops keep their shutters half open in a Borivli market in April File picChandan Vasariya a garment shop owner in Dadar East told midday ldquoThere are hardly a few cases in the city then why such hard restrictions on shops My shop was open on Tuesday till 2 pm but not a single customer came We need permission for at least five days a week Business has already stopped the staff has gone to their villages and customers wonrsquot come during the rainy season So we should be allowed to operate from 9 am to 5 pmrdquoChange operating hoursPravin Chheda excorporator and secretary of Akhil Ghatkopar Vyapari Mandal said ldquoThe local ward officer and police were cooperating with us on Tuesday We can comment on the alternate days formula in a week or two But we have strong objection over the timings Who will come to the shops early in the morning from 7 am to 10 am Women generally go shopping after finishing house chores So instead of morning the corporation should allow us to open shops from 10 am to 6 pmrdquoA shopkeeper from Ghatkopar said ldquoShopkeepers were doing business by standing in front of closed shutters Many of them got notices from police and the BMC Does the government want them to do business out of fear It is time to help them and customersrdquoldquoThe first day was very dull and almost like lockdown No customers came at Lamington Road Grant Road The BMCrsquos orders came through the D ward at noon Till that time police were clueless about which side will remain open It will take some days for customers to understand the opening pattern Again more confusion will prevail next Monday when the days get reversed The leftright formula is difficult to implement practicallyrdquo said Mitesh Mody president of All India Electronics AssociationAssociation speaksldquoAlternate days of opening shops created confusion and the timing is not practical Customers donrsquot come between 7 am and 2 pm to shop for nonessentials The shops should be allowed to open from afternoon to evening and it will help in social distancingrdquo said Viren Shah president of FRTWA Federation of Retail Traders Welfare AssociationHe added that the order will only help ecommerce and hit the 25 lakh standalone traders selling nonessential items and their staff There a total of 35 lakh retailers in the city 50000 of which sell nonessentials in markets and malls and 50000 sell essential products Inputs from Pallavi Smart9 am5 pmOperating hours demanded by shopkeepers25 LakhNo of shops selling nonessentials in city as per FRTWA35LTotal no of retailers in city as per FRTWA50KNo of shops selling nonessentials in markets malls