The city wore a curfew-like look with shops and commercial establishments closed in a virtual shut-down ahead of the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games. Barring a few buses here and there, it was mostly private vehicles that were seen on the roads. While it may have ensured safer and congestion-free Delhi, a large number of traders and even some foreign tourists were not happy with it. The bazars and the malls in Delhi were by and large shut, barring a few eateries.
“In most parts of the city, specially South and Central Delhi, where important games venues are located, security personnel were ordered to check vehicles and ask people to show their identify proof,” said a senior traffic police officer. Amid unprecedented security cover, people preferred to stay home.
It was the poor, mainly labourers and homeless people, who had a tough time. “Many of them were forced to leave places like the neighbourhood markets and were even forced to leave the city as they did not have proper identity proofs,” said Shabbir Alam, a grocery shop owner in the Mehar Chand Market area.
Shopkeepers too lamented closing down of their shops leading to financial losses. Ashok Singh, whose shop was in Jor Bagh, said, Due to the shut down in Delhi today, I sustained major losses today. Is the opening ceremony going to feed my children.”
The shutdown also saw many angry foreign visitors, who wanted to take a trip of the city. “Many tourists, who had heard about the Delhi Emporium in Connaught Place and the ongoing food festival here, had come to enjoy it but left the place angry as it was shut down. In fact, the tourists have left complaints against the city government’s decision to close all the market places,” said the person at the reception desk of the Emporium at Baba Kharak Singh Marg.