NEW DELHI: With a huge question mark still hanging over the sealing and demolition exercises in the Capital, traders are faced with a massive loss of business in the run-up to Diwali. A majority of buyers and retailers from within and outside Delhi have started turning to other marketing centres to sell their products and also purchase goods as both Diwali and Id this year are back to back.

Interestingly, suffering huge losses and erosion of business, various traders' associations have joined hands to not celebrate Diwali this year. The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has passed a formal resolution not to celebrate Diwali in view of the uncertainty and decline in business -- both wholesale and retail. The traders are of the view that due to the massive sealing and demolitions exercises the message has gone across the country that things are not in a proper order in Delhi and to do business there could prove risky.

A large number of traders said that the buying spree and rush witnessed in the Capital's markets in previous years during the festive season is missing this time. On their part, the traders are not getting new stocks. Nor are they making any new investments as they dread that if the Supreme Court does not respond positively to the Union Government's review petition, they might have to close shop.

What is even worse is that the Capital's distributive character has also come under serious attack due to this continuous uncertainty. "Buyers from adjoining States of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh who used to throng the markets before Diwali and Id every year have gone missing this year. They are looking instead at local marketing centres like Chandigarh, Ludhiana and even cities like Kanpur and Lucknow to meet their needs. Nobody is willing to come to Delhi and as a result business has suffered badly and the stocks lying for months together will remain unsold resulting in huge losses," said Jagdish Thukral, a leading readymade garment dealer of Gandhi Nagar, considered Asia's biggest readymade garment market.

The situation is no different for the wholesale distributors of cloth as well as the labourers who got huge orders during this time of the year. "The labourers who used to leave for their villages to celebrate Diwali and Id only two days ahead of the festival dates have already started going back as there is no work for them here ," remarked Anees Mohammad, a contractor of Seelampur.

Interestingly, the uncertainty has created problems for traders who buy goods on credit and then sell them during the festival season. "Nobody is willing to give us goods on credit. We used to make payments two to three months after selling the goods but now distributors in Delhi and those from outside are asking for cash payment beforehand. This is why we have been unable to get new stocks," said Ram Wadha, owner of a leading textile shopping mart in West Delhi.

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