Delhi traders have nowhere to go

New Delhi: Raman Sood is one of the few traders in Delhi who decided to shift shop instead of protesting against the Municipal Corporation's sealing drive.

Not wanting to get into trouble, he moved to an authorised commercial complex, leaving his set-up of twelve years in a residential area. However, the move is costing him a lot more than he has ever had to pay.

"When I booked my new shop five months ago, I was paying Rs 1.5 lakh. Now I am paying Rs 3.5 lakh," says he.

With resumption of the sealing drive, other traders too are now beginning to look for options. Wednesday saw no incidents of violence and that was probably because many of the traders have realised that there is no way out, but to look for options.

Says a trader Girja Shankar, "I have been forced to look for a place since the Government wants us to move and we don't have a choice - even thoigh the prices are high and the space available is too little."

But what really are the options available with the traders? There is hardly any space in existing malls and commercial complexes and whatever little is available, is unaffordable for most of the 44,000 small traders.

There has been a sharp rise in realty prices in the National Capital Region ever since the sealing drive began.

Prices of property have more than doubled and projected figures show this trend will just get worse.

It also won't be easy finding space in upcoming malls as the majority of the space has already been booked and if some traders did manage the feat, the problem is these malls won't be ready for another year or a year and a half.

Says property consultant Ashwani S Virk, "Community centres are taken and the small trader who used to pay Rs 30,000 as rent earlier will simply have no space in the new mall scheme."

Slowly but surely, traders have started exploring options, but the options are too few and the traders too many. In this high demand and low supply game, it's a real estate equation in which the trader stands to lose all.

(With inputs from Nishant Jain and Atul Mishra)

</a><a href='http://www.ibnlive.com/news/delhi-traders-have-nowhere-to-go/25768/comments.html'><b><font color=red>Debate: What is the solution for the traders?</font></b></a><table width="240" border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" class="Btext11"> <tr> <td valign="top"><img src="http://static.ibnlive.com/pix/sitepix/11_2006/sealing_map_delhi.jpg" width="248" height="178" /></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" class="Wtext11 pLeft5" style="background-color:#CB0101"><div align="center"><strong> THE AFFECTED</strong></div></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left" valign="top" style="background-color:#F7F7F7; padding:10px;" ><p><span class="pLeft10"><img src="/pix/common/bullet.gif" width="7" height="7" alt="bullet" /></span> 5.4 lakh shops across Delhi face closure<br /> <span class="pLeft10"><img src="/pix/common/bullet.gif" width="7" height="7" alt="bullet" /></span> 27 lakh traders have their livelihoods at risk</p> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" class="Wtext11 pLeft5" style="background-color:#CB0101"><div align="center"><strong> WHAT TO EXPECT ON THURSDAY</strong></div></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left" valign="top" style="background-color:#F7F7F7; padding:10px;" ><p><span class="pLeft10"><img src="/pix/common/bullet.gif" width="7" height="7" alt="bullet" /></span> The drive will continue in the south and central zones on Thursday. It will start from Moolchand area in south Delhi and is expected to move upto Defence Colony, South Extension and Greater Kailash.<br /> <span class="pLeft10"><img src="/pix/common/bullet.gif" width="7" height="7" alt="bullet" /></span> The Delhi government's education department said all schools in the Capital had reopened as no violence had been reported Wednesday.<br /> <span class="pLeft10"><img src="/pix/common/bullet.gif" width="7" height="7" alt="bullet" /></span>Confederation of All India Traders is meeting to discuss the sealing drive.</p> </td> </tr> </table>

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