Over 15,000 traders across parts of central Calcutta will keep their shops shut till Sunday in an attempt to break the chain of transmission as the Covid-19 cases are increasing across the city.

Some of these traders deal with non-essential items, including motor parts, sarees, garments, electronic goods, electrical items and bicycles and their shops are spread across parts of Bentinck Street, Central Avenue, Ganesh Chandra Avenue, Ezra Street, canning Street and a part of Strand Road.

Parts of Posta and Burrabazar where traders deal with essential commodities, including pulses, rice, edible oils, sugar and salt, will remain open though during this period.

“A few of our members have succumbed to Covid and several others are battling with the infection. Given the rise in the number of cases and the state of the healthcare system, we decided to keep the shops closed till Sunday,” said Sushil Poddar, the president of the Confederation of West Bengal Trade Associations, an apex body of several traders bodies dealing with different items in Calcutta. “The confederation will review the situation on Monday and decide whether or not to extend this closure for a few more days.”

A bulk of traders, who are a part of this confederation, comprise a large part of Calcutta’s central business district mainly between NS Road in the west and Ganesh Chandra Avenue in the east, where lakhs of customers come everyday for their purchases, either in bulk or in small quantities.

According to rough estimates, transactions worth over several crores take place in this part of the city on days when the shops are open and transporters remain busy loading and unloading items reaching from different parts of the country.

“Many visitors to this area come without face masks or keep them below their chin despite repeated warnings,” said a senior officer of Hare Street police station.

“Some of the relatively narrower lanes and bylanes have traders thronging throughout the day braving the pandemic situation. A closure of a few days will be of huge relief.”

A section of the traders said they had been downing their shutters on Saturdays and Sundays and all shops would remain closed on May 1. In effect, the traders would be keeping their shops closed for a day, they said.

“In Posta, there has not been a single Covid positive case in the second wave so far,” said Chandan Chakrabarty of Posta Bazar Byabsayee Samity. “All shops here will remain open. The supply of essential items will be hit if shops are closed.”