An hour more of night shopping

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Not only people, Delhi markets too are bearing the brunt of the scorching sun. With the temperature soaring to 45 degree Celsius this year, shoppers have been choosing to stay away from markets, which wear a deserted look in the day hours.

“Footfall has dropped by 60 per cent in our market,” says Ashok Randhawa, president, Sarojini Nagar Mini Market Traders Association. To cope with the problem, many associations are trying to find a solution to bring the customers back.
“Less number of footfall certainly means less business for us. To cover up this problem, we try to open shops as early as possible so that people may drop in early. Then we have also extended the closing deadline by one hour, which gives latecomers enough time to shop. Earlier we would close by 9 pm, now we call it a day after 10 pm,” says Randhawa.
Sanjeev Arora, president of Janpath Market Association, says they make sure to maintain the cooler in the cabin they had built for visitors. “We built this cabin so that tired customers can take a break here. We have got a cooler installed here and make sure it functions fine. We don’t want our customers to stand in the sun for too long,” says he.
Karol Bagh Traders Federation, too, is trying to make the market more accessible to customers. “We know that many don’t come to Karol Bagh market as it is difficult to get a parking space, and this heat is compounding the problems all the more. We are requesting the authorities to make the parking more organised so that customers can come in their cars, get a parking space and easily go to the shops.”
Meanwhile, many, like Khan Market Traders Association, are waiting for the weather to turn better so that customers again start dropping in. “We can’t open shops beyond the deadline as it requires several permissions, we are just waiting for the weather to get better so that customers could come in again,” he says.