No crowds in Delhi’s markets, public transport, parking lots
nNEW DELHI: Eerily quiet markets that buzzed with activity just a few days ago, empty parking lots and rows of vacant seats in Metro coaches even during peak rush hour — scenes of ‘ghost towns’, seen globally in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, have slowly started playing out in the national capital.
According to government authorities and market associations, as the number of positive Covid-19 cases increases in Delhincr, crowds in public places have been thinning with each passing day.
Market associations said footfall in popular markets and restaurants has fallen by more than half. Ridership of public buses and Delhi Metro has witnessed a sharp fall — nearly 10-15%.
Delhi traffic police said the only place where the presence of people has actually shot up are roads. Major intersections are now witnessing 50,000 to 1 lakh more vehicles every day, traffic police said. Officials said this could be because more people are using personal vehicles and avoiding public transport.
MARKETS
Popular markets, including Lajpat Nagar, Malviya Nagar, Sarojini Nagar and Karol Bagh, saw crowds thinning out with most traders complaining of between 30% and 40% drop in sales. Restaurants were also deserted.
In Sadar Bazar, customer footfall is down by 60% from the daily average of around 1.25 lakh, Devraj Baweja, president of Delhi Vyapar Mahasangh, said.
It’s even lower in Sarojini Nagar, Ashok Randhawa of Sarojini Nagar Mini Market Welfare Association said, pegging the footfall drop at 70% from the daily average of around 60,000.
“The wholesale markets are still in better shape. Most traders deal in essential goods, and because of rumours about markets closing down and supply chain being affected, etc, people have started hoarding essential articles,” said Ajay Bajaj, senior adviser to the Karol Bagh Traders’ Federation, who pegged the drop in footfall at 50%.
A similar trend exists in parking lots. Estimates provided by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), show that between
March 14 and March 18, lots witnessed an average occupancy of 65-70% of its total capacity.
According to Praveen Khandelwal, president of Confederation of All India Traders, the footfall in Delhi markets has reduced by 30%. “Delhi has around 1.5 million traders — owners of both small and big enterprises taken together — who cater to the needs of more than 15 million residents of the city. Their turnout has been affected. The stocks, however, are full and the supply chain is unaffected. So people should not hoard goods in panic.”
TRANSPORT
Data shared by the transport department showed Delhi bus ridership has dropped by an average of around 2.60 lakh per day between March 1 and 15, compared to the previous 15 days, from February 15 to 29.
The Delhi Metro’s ridership has also taken a beating due to fears over the spread of the virus. In February this year, Delhi Metro recorded an average footfall of 57.12 lakh passengers every day. However, this went down to 46.53 lakh daily, between March 1 and March 15.
“The number of passenger journeys depends on various factors at any given point of time such as vacations, examinations, monsoon season, festivals, strikes and closures, etc., and utilisation follows a monthly pattern accordingly,” said Anuj Dayal, executive director (corporate communication), DMRC.
TRAFFIC
Unlike the trend across the city, major arterial roads are witnessing more traffic, Delhi Traffic Police estimates show. Data says the number of vehicles marginally increased over the last fortnight in traffic-heavy junctions such as ITO, Ashram, Rajouri Garden and Moti Bagh.
Sample this: On regular weekdays (after the protests started at Shaheen Bagh on December 15), 5-6 lakh vehicles crossed the Ashram intersection during peak traffic rush in mornings and evenings. From March 4 to March 19, however, on an average, 6.5-6.75 lakh vehicles have been crossing the intersection.
In ITO too, traffic movement has seen a marginal increase. From 2-2.5 lakh vehicles crossing the stretch usually, 3-3.15 lakh vehicles are being recorded.