In a month, Gujarat set to lose Rs 5,400 crore due to night curfews and voluntary closures

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COVID-19 cases are raging across the country and the state of Gujarat is no different. Over the past 21 days, the state has reported 1,43,373 cases and 1,058 deaths with an average run rate of 12,000 cases a day. Pre-empting this trend, Gujarat government pro-actively imposed a night curfew between 8 pm to 6 am in four major cities of the state on April 1. With cases rising in the state the curfew was extended to 18 major cities of the state on April 15.

Restaurants and the hotel industry is bearing the brunt of the curfew. Unlike last year when rent was waived or taken less during lockdown this year full rent is taken and even the government taxes are collected in advance. Gujarat has around 40,000 small and big hotels of which 20-25% are on the verge of shutting down and the sector is reeling under losses of around Rs 400 crore a month.

Likewise, orders worth Rs 5,000 crore are stuck due to the APMC markets being closed across the state. Most APMC markets are unlikely to start operations in a week or so. There are more than 175 APMC markets in Gujarat with over 50 lakh farmers directly or indirectly involved in the trade.

Jayendra Tanna, President of Gujarat Traders Federation, said: “The business has come to a standstill for the last 20 days due to increasing corona cases. There is no business, so traders have decided to close voluntarily.” Many auto dealers and jewellers in the state have decided to keep their shops closed between 23-25th of April in lieu of rising cases.

On the other hand, the diamond industry of the state is not facing any losses. Dinesh Nawadia, President of Surat Diamond Association said: “In-house work was underway in the diamond market. Only 10% of artisans from other states have not returned back to work. So, 90% of the work is going on.”