Pune: Traders threaten to end lives if lockdown is extended

Pune, July 16, 2020: Various small and medium scale traders have threatened to end their lives if the government extends the second lockdown imposed in the city from Monday midnight. The Poona traders association president Fatehchand Ranka has warned the government and other district administration officials about the likely extreme steps that might be taken by the traders if the lockdown continues.

In an audio clip which was sent to State Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, various other ministers and officials in the State Government to district collector, Pune Police commissioners and other officials, Ranka put forth the kinds of trouble a trader in the city is facing owing to the wrong policies implemented by the administration.

The 10 minute long clip also questions how the traders are facing losses for over three months now? Ranka said, “after the unlocking was started we opened the shops but as we have to adhere to the P1 and P2 norms, the shop was functional only for 15 days” Moreover, we had to pay the salaries of the employees, workers, rents and electricity bills. It was unbearable burden”, he further mentioned.

Similarly, medium scale trader Anagha Ghaisas who runs a handmade craft Paithani (a type of traditional Maharashtraian Saree) on Fergusson college road threatened to go on indefinite hunger strike if the government continues the lockdown further.

In a small audio-visual clip on the social media platform Facebook, Ghaisas questioned what did the government do to stop the spread of the Corona virus in last three months when the entire country was under lockdown?

Being critical about the handling of the pandemic in the State, Ghaisas said that the Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has failed in controlling the spread of the virus vis-à-vis creating medical facilities in the state. She said, “the lockdown to imposed to create and prepare ourselves to fight against the Corona Virus, but despite the state in three months lockdown, the medical facilities in the state were not enhanced.

Likewise, no relief was granted to the traders like her. She appealed to CM to ensure the less corruption in the administration and use that money for the welfare of the people.