Noida's biggest market opposes administration's weekly shop closure order

Noida's Sector 18 market association on Wednesday opposed the Gautam Buddh Nagar administration's order for weekly closure of retail shops in the district.

They said the closure will affect retail traders as opposed to outlets in shopping malls that are allowed to run throughout the week.

District Magistrate Suhas L Y had on Monday invoked powers under the Uttar Pradesh Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1962, to pass an order, continuing with the once-a-week closure of retail shops and commercial establishments in Noida and Greater Noida.

Different days of the week were allotted for closure in different areas and markets of the district, while multinational corporations and corporate offices were ordered to stay shut on Sunday.

The market association of Sector 18, where shops have been ordered to remain shut on Tuesdays, however, opposed the direction, claiming losses to retails traders.

If this closure is implemented, it should be implemented on all shops, whether those in markets or in shopping malls. Otherwise, only the individual shop owners have to bear the losses incurred due to such closures, Sector 18 market association president Sushil Kumar Jain said.

The district magistrate should reconsider his order so that our small traders do not have to suffer..., Jain, also convenor of the NCR unit of Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), said.

He suggested that the administration should work out a plan so that the one-day closures are implemented across shops and commercial outlets in a given area, whether in open markets or in shopping malls.

The Sector 18 market of Noida is one of the biggest revenue generators in Uttar Pradesh, housing hundreds of shops ranging from clothes, electronics, banking and finance to fast food outlets, with thousands of people thronging the area daily.