Delhi traders say INDIA bloc Ramlila rally cost markets up to Rs 11,000 crore

Delhi's traders say the INDIA bloc's rally at Ramlila Maidan on Sunday, November 1, cost the capital's markets roughly Rs 10,000-11,000 crore in lost business. Brijesh Goyal, chairman of the Chamber of Trade & Industry (CTI), made the claim, saying shutdowns hit the city at the busiest point of the festive shopping season.

Goyal said 20 to 25 major markets near the venue were affected. Of roughly three lakh shops in those areas, he estimated about 2.5 lakh, or around 80%, stayed shut. He said many owners closed up out of worry over crowds and traffic. His tally came from reports in WhatsApp groups of traders linked to the Confederation of All India Traders, so it is an informal estimate and has not been independently verified.

The disruption also reached the supply chain, according to Goyal. He said 3 to 4 lakh people who normally travel to Delhi for business, including buyers, suppliers and dealers from nearby towns, did not turn up. He added that around 5,000 vehicles, from small tempos to heavy trucks, could not operate, which stalled loading and unloading in Old Delhi and Central Delhi. Even shops that opened, he said, saw almost no customers.

Timing is the heart of the complaint. Goyal noted that Dhanteras was only four days away, and that these markets together generate business of about Rs 10,000-12,000 crore in the peak Diwali season. He asked who would compensate traders and whether organisers would do so. No response from the organisers was included in the source report.

Concern had been building before the rally. Office bearers of the Automotive Parts Merchant Association at Kashmere Gate, one of Asia's largest auto parts wholesale markets, told ANI they were not against democratic protest. They called the venue and date a poor fit for trade and urged the administration to step in. They warned that gridlock and anxiety among outstation buyers would hurt wholesale trade within about three kilometres of Old Delhi, and would squeeze daily-wage workers. Their pre-event estimate of losses was above Rs 2,000 crore, far below Goyal's later figure.

For readers watching the festive economy, the gap between those two numbers is a reminder that these are rough, trader-reported projections rather than audited data. The larger point is that a single day of lost footfall in dense wholesale hubs can ripple outward to transporters, labourers and small retailers. Whether the shortfall is recovered in the remaining pre-Diwali days, as demand often bunches up near Dhanteras, will show how deep the damage really runs.

Source: Asianet Newsable report based on ANI

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