Traders rue losses amid negligible footfall in Patna

PATNA: Despite the Patna district administration giving several relaxations in terms of economic activities, most shops in the city are incurring losses, claim traders. They have attributed the “poor business” to “lower customer footfall” amid the Covid-19 lockdown.

Prince Raj, the manager of a garment showroom near New Patliputra Colony, pointed out that there was a lot of chaos among the customers because of the odd-even formula being followed to open shops.

“Most customers do not know which shop will open when,” he added.

Shops with odd numbers have to operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and those with even numbers on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Besides, stand-alone shops selling electrical goods and automobiles remain open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays whereas those selling jewellery, utensils, sports items and textiles function on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

However, the scenario at Hathwa Market and Maurya Lok Complex is slightly better as shopkeepers have been witnessing a significant increase in footfalls for the last two days.

Maurya Lok Shopkeeper Kalyan Samiti president Rajesh Kumar Dabloo told this newspaper, “One of the main reasons for better customer response is the upcoming wedding season. A lot of people have visited different shops in the complex for buying jewellery and clothes during the last two days.”