Closure of markets and wholesale business establishments in Alipurduar and Cooch Behar districts in the past few days because of a spike in Covid-19 cases disrupted supply of commodities to traders in the neighbouring state of Assam.

The Assam merchants requested trade bodies and wholesalers in the two districts to increase business hours and open shops on alternate basis so that there was no disruption in the supply.

In Cooch Behar, shops and wholesale establishments have been closing down at 12pm every day for the past fortnight to prevent overcrowding. In Alipurduar, the local trade body announced a five-day shutdown from Tuesday.

Traders in lower Assam districts like Kokrajhar, Dhubri and Bongaigaon place orders of goods worth around Rs 1.5 crore with suppliers in

Alipurduar and Cooch Behar everyday. Vegetables, grocery items, electrical goods, hardware items and garments are sent to the lower Assam from the two districts in Bengal.

Ajay Prasad, a trader at Srirampur in Kokrajhar district, said: “Our markets remain open till 7pm. But the problem we face these days is that there is irregularity in supply as shops close down early in Cooch Behar and a five-day shutdown is in force in Alipurduar. We could not place our orders or get them delivered on time. We have urged the suppliers to make some relaxations.”

The authorities on Wednesday decided to enforce complete lockdown in Cooch Behar till August 8.

Abdul Kalam, who deals with microphones, loudspeakers and similar items in Kokrajhar, was also worried.

“First of all, shops in Cooch Behar are open only in the morning hours and it is not possible for us to reach there on time. Secondly, we could not even enter Cooch Behar these days because of frequent lockdowns,” Kalam said.

Prasenjit Dey, the secretary of the Alipurduar Chamber of Commerce, said the problems faced by the Assam traders was understandable. “But we, too, are bearing losses in the interest of Alipurduar residents. None of us wants to keep our shops close. A considerable quantity of our goods are sent to adjoining areas of Assam. But given the steady rise in the number of Covid cases, we have no other alternative but to keep the markets shut for some days,” said Dey.

Chand Mohan Saha, the secretary of the Cooch Behar Zilla Byabsayee Samiti, said: “The situation might be better in Assam. But we cannot afford to relax restrictions in Cooch Behar.”