Anti-sealing drive: Traders to strike

New Delhi: Traders in Delhi will go on a 72-hour strike from October 30 to protest the sealing drive in the city.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will resume sealing in residential areas from November 1 following the Supreme Court's (SC) orders.

Traders say they might shut shop indefinitely if the Government fails to take any decision over the 72-hour strike.

Traders plan to protest at the Delhi Assembly on the opening day of its winter session.

Meanwhile, with sealing of shops set to be a major issue in the upcoming MCD polls, a delegation of Delhi Congress leaders on Wednesday appealed to the SC-appointed monitoring committee to spare traders till the implementation of the new Master Plan for Delhi.

Led by DPCC chief Rambabu Sharma, the delegation comprising MPs Jagdish Tytler, Sajjan Kumar and Krishna Tirath was assured by monitoring committee member Bhure Lal that the court panel would exercise "authority with compassion" in the issue.

"We have requested the monitoring committee that no shops or trades in the capital be sealed till the Master Plan for Delhi 2021 is implemented," Sharma told reporters after the 35-minute meeting.

He said Delhi Congress also asked the committee that the 41,000 traders who have submitted affidavits to the court for voluntary closure of their shops be allowed to carry on with their trades and the streets notified by the MCD for conducting commercial activities be exempted till the new Master Plan comes into being.

"We were given the assurance that the committee will exercise authority with compassion and put forth our appeal before the Supreme Court," Tytler said.

"We told the panel that the traders who have submitted affidavits should not be punished for obeying the court's directions," he added.

The Congress MPs who did not come for the meeting were Union Ministers Kapil Sibal and Ajay Maken and East Delhi MP Sandeep Dikshit.

However, downplaying the absence of the three Delhi leaders, Sharma said, "Maken and Sibal did not come as they are ministers and Dikshit is out of station".

The MCD is set to resume sealing of shops in residential areas on November 1.

(With inputs from PTI)