No 1 – Monday & Tuesday
No 2 – Wednesday & Thursday
No 3 – Friday & Saturday
A day after collector’s directives, the process of allotment of numbers to standalone shops in markets began here on Thursday. As per the new system, 33 % shops will remain open on a given day in the capital city.
The new number system will be applicable in new as well as in old Bhopal, while Bairagarh has been exempted from it and here the shops will remain open for five days, except Saturdays and Sundays. Registering their protest to the new number-based system, the New Market traders called on Home minister seeking his intervention. BMC has started allotting numbers to shops, however, the outlets still to get the numbers will continue to operate on the old category-wise day based system.
Collector Tarun Pithode on Wednesday had clarified that in order to check rush in markets and prevent chances of coronavirus spread, the administration has devised a new system wherein numbers 1,2,and 3 will be allotted to shops, thus allowing each out to operate on two days in a week. The market will remain closed on Sunday and only medical stores and shops grocery are permitted to operate throughout the week.
Currently the shops are categorized and they are permitted to open day wise, but with the enforcement of number system, the shops allotted Number -1 will run business on Mondays and Tuesdays, No-2 on Wednesdays and Thursdays and the shops with No-3 will remain open on Fridays and Saturdays. The shops will continue to operate on old system-category-wise, till the numbers are allotted.
The new order, however, has failed to go down well with the New Market traders and they have expressed their reservation.
New Market Traders Association general secretary Ajay Dewnani said, “We have registered our objection to number system. Already category-wise day-based system is being followed. Our delegations called on Home minister Narottam Mishra who directed collector look into the issue of New Market traders. So we are waiting for district administration’s next order.”
The traders in old Bhopal had initially registered their protest but now before taking any decision they want to see how effective the new number-based system is. The administration should go ahead with the implementation of the number-based system, we will see how effective this new system is and then decide the future course of action, the traders said.
