Rahul Gandhi's Nov 1 Ramlila Maidan rally: Delhi traders fear Rs 10,000 cr hit
With Diwali weeks away, the Confederation of All India Traders says a rally of up to 10 lakh people could choke 21 markets in the capital, and wants it moved.
Delhi's traders have written again to Rahul Gandhi, asking the Leader of Opposition to postpone the INDIA bloc's November 1 rally at Ramlila Maidan. Their worry: the event lands in peak festive shopping season and could cost the city's markets up to Rs 10,000 crore, according to the traders' body.
The letter follows a sharp brush-off. On Monday, Gandhi rejected the earlier appeal, saying in a post on X that the protest could end in "30 seconds" if the Prime Minister sacked Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. He suggested traders take their plea to Narendra Modi instead.
The Confederation of All India Traders (CTI) says markets within roughly 5 km of the venue would suffer, among them Chandni Chowk, Sadar Bazar, Chawri Bazar and Kashmere Gate. It expects police barricading, road closures and Metro station shutdowns to keep shoppers away. In all, it lists 21 markets, including Khari Baoli, Karol Bagh, Daryaganj, Paharganj, Jama Masjid and Lajpat Rai Market.
Timing is the core of the complaint. CTI chairman Brijesh Goyal says the big shopping rush starts about a week before Dhanteras on November 6 and Diwali on November 8. That puts the rally squarely in the busiest trading window of the year.
The group also did the traffic math. If Congress's claim of 10 lakh attendees holds, CTI estimates 15,000 to 20,000 vehicles would head into Delhi, including 10,000 to 12,000 buses and 5,000 to 7,000 cars, minibuses and tempo travellers. It says there is no authorised parking for even 200 vehicles near Ramlila Maidan, and warns that traffic could spill into Old Delhi lanes just 10 to 12 feet wide, where one stuck truck can jam streets for hours.
CTI points to the October 10 event at Jantar Mantar as precedent. It claims that a crowd of about 3,000 to 4,000 disrupted central Delhi and cost traders Rs 3,000 crore. These figures are the traders' own estimates, not independently verified. The body wants the rally pushed to November 10, after Bhai Dooj, or moved to Burari Ground or Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, away from dense commercial areas.
For shoppers, the practical takeaway is to expect possible road and Metro disruption around Old Delhi if the rally goes ahead as planned. Read the original report at the Daily Pioneer.
