Cachar victim of discrimination; Business fraternity finds restrictions in SOP "illogical", hints "conspiracy"

Although Corona cases all over the country are witnessing a steady decline in the past couple of weeks, the prevailing lockdown condition in several parts of the country is still wreaking havoc on small-time businesses and merchants. In Assam, the state government has issued different SOPs from time to time for different districts based on their individual performance in fighting the Corona pandemic.

On April 18, the first state SOP arrived in form of restricted business hours which allowed all forms of business activities to operate until 6 pm. Then gradually, as daily cases started to rise, the subsequent SOPs became stricter and the work schedule was reduced to merely a handful of hours with a curfew imposed right after noon.

The Cachar district has been witnessing a lower number of daily Covid cases as opposed to last month. From beyond 600 daily cases to 50-60 as of now, the district has come a long way after going through many losses of lives due to Covid. Earlier on July 6, the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) has issued a revised and consolidated directive for both rural and urban areas which will remain in force w.e.f 5 am of July 7, 2021, until further order. But Cachar managed to get no relaxation. District of Kamrup Metro, which has registered 203 fresh new cases on July 6, has been blessed with relaxation until 5 pm, whereas Cachar district is still left to be content with business hours until 1 pm only. In the SOP, Cachar has been classified as a “District showing moderate positivity rate.” Cachar’s positivity rate has remained below 1% for more than two weeks in a row. The same SOP classified Kamrup Metro as “District showing improvement in Case load.”

This further extension of partial lockdown has devastated the independent small-time vendors and traders. Essential shops have been forced to operate within limited hours, restaurants and food joints resorted to home delivery and take-away services just to survive in this time of acute crisis. And street food vendors, which the city of Silchar takes immense pride in its variety and affordability, have taken the worst hit as they’ve been forced out of their businesses. Most street food vendors open their shops around the evening hour and operate at night, but due to the prevailing partial lockdown, their stalls are now nowhere to be seen in the footpaths and sidewalks of Silchar.

“We didn’t get any information or criteria from the health department based on which the SOP was declared,” Vivek Poddar

Now the question that begets is why should Cachar, who has been registering 50-70 daily cases for the past one week at least, be meted out with such discrimination of Covid SOP when at the same time, districts like Kamrup Metro are registering daily cases well over 100? Vivek Poddar, President of the South Assam Chamber of Commerce, is among the ones who have been appealing to the government and district administration about providing lockdown relaxation for business hours.

“First of all, we need to grasp the reason behind this discrimination. We didn’t get any information or criteria from the health department based on which the SOP was declared. Like Kamrup, many districts are registering more daily cases than Cachar, therefore, why still they didn’t provide more relaxation for business hours is beyond my comprehension. I feel that seeing the daily Corona graph of the district for the past 15 days, normal working hours can be stretched to 5 pm easily as opposed to 1 pm now,” says Poddar.

He adds, “With strict enforcement of Covid protocols, and ensuring that only vaccinated vendors and merchants are allowed to operate during business hours, the lockdown restriction could’ve been eased a bit. Many vendors and employees in businesses are getting out of work due to this lockdown, and if it stays for too long, it could render some serious damage to our economy.”

He says he lauds the district administration for responsibly carrying out the vaccination drive in both urban and rural areas. “So, ensuring that most vendors and merchants are vaccinated, they could be allowed to operate with more relaxation by adhering to the Covid protocols”, said Vivek Poddar.

“If other districts are enjoying more relaxation even after showcasing more daily Covid cases, why should Cachar be not allowed to at least operate until 5 pm?” Mulchand Baid

Mulchand Baid, President of the Foodgrains Merchants Association, also aired similar sentiments. He believed that the inter-district travel ban is rather causing the most harm to the economy and trade of this district. “For almost 3 months now, trade and business activities have been reduced to less than half. Small-time vendors like street food vendors have already gone out of work seeking alternative means of income. And the biggest one is the inter-district travel ban, which is stopping customers from neighbouring districts to come to Silchar for various purposes,” asserted Baid.

A large employer, Baid added, “Institutions like theatres and cinema halls have been shut for 1.5 years now, where will their employees go if they are not making any single penny? Middle-class businessmen are caught in a tangle, going through losses but still not being able to let off of their longtime employees out of humanity. We support the government’s fight against Corona but if other districts are enjoying more relaxation even after showcasing more daily Covid cases, why should Cachar be not allowed to at least operate until 5 pm?”

The South Assam Chamber of Commerce has already appealed to the CM of Assam asking for relaxation until 5 pm. “I travel a lot due to my work, and right now I’m in Delhi. Many cities of India are registering far more cases than Cachar, yet their shops and malls are open, business is going on as usual. But they’re also strictly adhering to Covid protocols and are also getting vaccinated at a good pace. In Silchar too, as most people have already been vaccinated, with proper precautions, working hours can easily be pushed to 5 pm as of now”, asserted Mulchand Baid.

“People are going out even during curfew hours so what’s the point of keeping shops closed and slowly destroying the small-time vendors?” Tamal Kanti Banik

Most people might still be wondering about the logic and reason behind the Cachar’s current Covid SOP, Silchar MLA candidate of Congress, Tamal Kanti Banik, suspects a bit more insidious motive behind this decision. He said, “Earlier when we used to get Covid positive reports, people recently coming in contact with the positive patient were tracked and kept a record of. Nowadays, nothing as such is done, and we don’t get any information regarding the tracing history of Covid patients. Also, air travel is permitted, so, people from different corners of the country are arriving in the city. We don’t get any information regarding how they’re checked for Corona or quarantined at all or not. I don’t know the reason beind this negligence, maybe the government is trying to hide actual numbers, who knows? But if other districts are showcasing far more cases than Cachar, then Cachar can’t be allowed to operate at least until 4 pm?” questions Banik.

He sheds light on the case of Hailakandi where businesses are allowed to operate until 5 pm. “So if you notice the route connecting these districts where lockdown is stringent, it’s a clear gateway from Mizoram to Cachar via Katigorah to connect elsewhere. After curfew is imposed, who gets to see how many trucks or inter-state heavy vehicles are checked properly at checkposts? So I think, there is a conspiracy that is leading to this decision.”

Apart from being the former chairman of Silchar Municipality Board, Banik is an entrepreneur and industrialist too. “Also, if vaccination is going at such brisk rate as they claim to be, why can’t they allow a bit more relaxation to vendors and merchants who are vaccinated to operate their businesses? It’s just a legitimate demand of the common people, as most of them are dying now rather due to starvation. People are going out even during curfew hours so what’s the point of keeping shops closed and slowly destroying the small-time vendors?” Asks Tamal Kanti Banik.

These lockdowns have forced legal, legitimate businesses to pull the shutter down. However, illegal untaxed trade continues during the lockdown hours. While registered licensed wine shops cannot sell due to the lockdown, the illegal sale of liquor continues. The same goes for cigarettes, gutka, pan masala. Apart from trade, these partial lockdowns are not helping the cause of Cachar in terms of COVID either. People are gathering in large numbers at banks, markets, APDCL Offices for essential financial and daily needs and therefore risking further contamination.

Lastly, the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, repeatedly urged the states to identify containment zones and impose restrictions only on those zones, the SOP is a clear contradiction of what the PM has been suggesting. A district as large as Cachar has been left handicapped by these restrictions. If there are pockets where infections are high, shouldn’t the government impose restrictions only on those pockets?