Connaught Place traders say business down 70-80 pc due to laser show restrictions

Traders at Connaught Place said on Saturday that their business was down by 70-80 percent due to the closure of a few roads and parking slots for the four-day laser show organized by the Delhi government. According to the New Delhi Traders Association (NDTA), hundreds of Delhi'ites gathered at Connaught Place in the heart of the city to celebrate a "community and pollution-free Diwali" as the city government kick-started its four-day laser show from October 26 to encourage people not to burst crackers.

The traders staged a protest as the laser show began. "Sales of most showrooms and restaurants have gone down by 70-80 percent and the Delhi government was claiming that business will be more due to the laser show," NDTA president Atul Bhargava said.

The traders had put up posters across Connaught Place, saying "CP is a commercial center, not Mela ground" and "ban crackers, not cars". The NDTA had also written a letter to Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, seeking his intervention into the matter.

"It is a good idea to encourage people to celebrate Diwali without crackers and we are not against holding the event but why affect the business of traders? Why close roads?" Bhargava earlier said.