Delhi’s trading community has stepped up pressure against a proposed INDIA bloc rally at Ramlila Maidan, with the Delhi Vyapar Mahasangh writing to the Lieutenant Governor, Delhi Police Commissioner and MCD Commissioner seeking its cancellation or relocation. The Chamber of Trade and Industry claimed ongoing protests had already cost businesses nearly Rs 3,000 crore this month.
CTI chairman Brijesh Goyal said demonstrations on October 10 caused losses of around Rs 2,000 crore, with disruptions between October 13 and 16, including blocked roads, affected Metro services and restrictions in commercial areas, adding another Rs 1,000 crore in losses. Of the total estimated impact, retail trade accounted for Rs 1,800 crore and wholesale trade Rs 600 crore, according to the association. Goyal warned the cumulative figure could cross Rs 10,000 crore by Diwali on November 8 if disruptions continued at the current pace.
Separately, Chandni Chowk MP and CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said prolonged disruptions in Delhi could put business transactions worth over Rs 400 crore at risk every day, with cumulative exposure potentially reaching Rs 4,000 crore over ten days. He said Delhi’s estimated average daily business turnover of approximately Rs 2,200 crore made the city’s commercial ecosystem particularly vulnerable, with a 10 per cent decline in activity affecting Rs 220 crore daily, rising to Rs 330 crore at 15 per cent and Rs 440 crore at 20 per cent. Khandelwal clarified that these were indicative estimates of business activity at risk, not a verified accounting of actual losses.
Khandelwal said traders’ right to conduct business under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution deserved equal consideration alongside protesters’ rights to freedom of speech and peaceful assembly under Articles 19(1)(a) and 19(1)(b).
He said small traders were particularly affected, since they continued to bear fixed costs such as rent, salaries, electricity bills and loan instalments even when sales declined, with business lost during peak trading days often unrecoverable.
The Delhi Vyapar Mahasangh’s letter refers specifically to a proposed INDIA bloc programme scheduled from October 29 to November 3 at Ramlila Maidan. Delhi Police has said it issued the Congress a no-objection certificate for a rally on November 1. The Mahasangh said recent protests had already affected nearly 30 per cent of wholesale trade in the city, and expressed concern that another large gathering could lead to delayed shipments, cancelled orders and loss of customers for traders.
The association also flagged concerns that road diversions could affect access to Lok Nayak Hospital, GB Pant Hospital and New Delhi Railway Station, and sought uninterrupted passage for ambulances, patients and passengers during the proposed event. The Mahasangh clarified that its objection was to the venue and timing of the rally, not to the right to peaceful protest itself.