Taking strong exception to the trend of closure of shops, Wokha District Chamber of Commerce & Industry (WDCCI) has asked all concerned not to resort to “closing down shops for petty reasons”.
In a press release, WDCCI president Renpithung Kikon said the council was not opposed to closure of shops and would cooperate provided it was for “any justified cause or reason”.
In the wake of COVID-19 pandemic, WDCCI said the business community particularly the business centres in Wokha have been facing immense hardship due to closing down of establishments, intermittently, by the state government to break the chain of transmission.
Apart from the enforcement of closures by the state government, WDCCI said the public have continually witnessed the “undesirable phenomenon of closing down shops for various reasons by various parties as though doing so will solve any political or social problems in our society”.
The council said the business owners, whether big or small, depend on the daily income from their shops to run their homes and needs. WDCCI then said that unless somebody find “an ingenious way” to compensate business community for the closures it was “best to avoid the habit of closure of shops”.
“It is in the interest of the traders and the health of our market’s economy, that any institution must think twice before giving random order to close shops without a valid rhyme or reason since doing so is not the be-all and end-all to every problem,” stated WDCCI.