Fightback message to Covid: New Market set to reopen on Mon

Kolkata: After a gap of two months, New Market — the century-old grade-1 heritage market — will reopen on June 1, Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) officials have decided after holding a meeting with the traders. However, the traders will have to strictly follow Covid-19 norms, said a KMC markets department official.

According to an agreement, the traders won’t be allowed to leave their belongings piled on the pathways leading to shops. The traders have been asked to arrange for a fencing so that a minimum 6ft distance can be maintained between sellers and buyers. All shopowners have been told to keep sanitizers for customers. Masks have been made mandatory for traders as well as all shoppers.

The business hours have been fixed keeping in mind the virus scare. “The market will remain open from 7am till 6pm for essentials and perishable items. For non-essential items, the market will remain open from 10am to 6pm. No electricity will be available to shops after 6pm,” said a KMC markets department official. “All employees and shopowners must leave the market by 6pm. After that, we will disconnect all electricity lines,” a civic official said.

To avoid crowding, the KMC markets department has decided to open only three gates for shoppers to enter the market. “Under no circumstances will we allow crowding inside the market at a particular point of time. That is why we have decided to open only three gates,” a civic official said.

According to Uday Sahoo, the general secretary of SS Hogg Market Traders’ Association, the traders have readily accepted the rules as a pre-condition for opening of the market. “We are happy that we can resume our business after a gap of more than two months. It is a huge relief as every single trader in the market was suffering due to the closure of the market for a prolonged period of time. Now we hope our business will pick up and we are ready to serve the customers following all Covid-19 norms,” Sahoo said.

Ashraf Ali, a trader in the market who sells readymade garments, was visibly happy after the civic body finally granted permission for reopening the market. “It is a major relief for me as I was incurring huge loss everyday due to lockdown. But we are committed to serving our loyal customers with additional caution as the city is yet to get out of the grip of the deadly virus,” Ali said.

However, a section of KMC markets department officials expressed concern over reopening of a hawking zone in front of the heritage market. “Hawkers at Bertram Street, Lindsay Street or Humayun Place will resume their business from next week. We need to control the crowd that will assemble at these places, which also have entry points to New Market. If need be, we will ask police to make the hawkers follow strict social distancing norms for the sake of shoppers,” a KMC markets department official said.