Turn on the lights: Non-essential retail back as govt eases lockdown norms

Barring Mumbai, shops across other key metros reopen

In Connaught place in New Delhi, mannequins and signboards were being furiously dusted off on Tuesday as excited shopkeepers prepared to welcome their long-lost customers on the first day after the lockdown restrictions on retail were relaxed. Everything was ready — the display, the shining windows, the petty cash. The only thing missing was the customer.
 

“We are hopeful people will turn out soon but our sales projections are quite low. Currently, we are sitting on a lot of stocks and losses have already piled up, so the prices we charge may drop soon,” said Akshit Gupta, owner of the