KOLHAPUR: Traders in Kolhapur city cheered the administration’s decision to allow them to reopen all shops between 7am and 4pm from Monday. District guardian minister Satej Patil, however, warned that the shops would be shut again if the positivity rate for the week crossed 10% in Kolhapur city.
In a video message, Patil said: “The decision has been taken to provide relief to the small traders and vendors who make their living through daily earnings. We don’t want the city to slip into the Level 4 of Covid restrictions, which bans the non-essential shops from opening, again. The decision to allow shops to open is not permanent. It will be reviewed at the end of the week.”
The government had accepted the proposal sent by acting district collector in-charge Kadambari Balkawade seeking Kolhapur city to be considered as a separate administrative unit. The city had a positivity rate slightly below 10%, however, it is again hovering around 11-12%. Earlier, there was a proposal to consider Kolhapur city and 42 nearby villages as a single administrative unit. However, the government has approved only the shops in Kolhapur city to open.
The traders, meanwhile, were in a celebratory moon Monday. The Rajarampuri traders’ association distributed sweets and cut a cake in the Janta Bazaar chowk. Lalit Gandhi, the head of the association, said, “This is a victory of our protest. Our shops were closed for so long, but why did the Covid count not come down? Though the government has given us permission only for five days on a trial basis, we will ensure that all Covid safety norms are strictly followed.”
Sayyam Rathod, the owner of a gold shop in the Gujari market, said, “The decision to reopen our shops from Monday had already been taken by the traders. However, the administration granted us official permission and we are thankful. We cleaned the premises and performed a puja after opening of our shop.”
Aniket Patil, a customersaid, “For the past month, I needed to replace my bike tyre. The first thing I did on Monday was to buy a tyre. Hopefully, the shops will stay open next week too.”
