Who will pay for this? Traders' body claims ₹11,000 crore loss from INDIA bloc rally

Delhi’s trading community has claimed that business worth an estimated ₹11,000 crore was lost on November 1 after the INDIA bloc’s mega rally at Ramlila Maidan disrupted markets, transport and festive-season shopping across the capital. According to the ANI report, the estimate was released by the Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI), which said around 2.5 lakh shops remained shut.

CTI Chairman Brijesh Goyal said the disruption came at the worst possible time, just ahead of Diwali, when wholesale and retail markets usually record their highest sales.

The rally was held at Ramlila Maidan on November 1 amid road closures and security restrictions in parts of the national capital.

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What the traders’ body claims

According to CTI’s assessment, retail and wholesale trade bore the largest impact, with an estimated loss of ₹8,800 crore. The body also claimed that transport and logistics suffered losses of about ₹1,500 crore, as the movement of goods was halted within a 10-km radius of the rally venue.

Goyal said 20 to 25 major markets near Ramlila Maidan were affected, with roughly 2.5 lakh of the nearly 3 lakh shops in these markets remaining closed.

“These markets collectively conduct business worth around ₹10,000 crore to ₹12,000 crore every day. That entire business has come to a standstill, and we estimate that losses could reach around ₹10,000 crore to ₹12,000 crore,” Goyal told ANI.

Festive season hit

The traders’ body said the rally and associated traffic restrictions affected not only shopkeepers but also transporters, hotel and restaurant operators, tourism businesses and daily-wage workers. CTI said the losses were concentrated in Central Delhi and Old Delhi, areas that depend heavily on pre-Diwali footfall and bulk trade.

Goyal said organisers had projected a gathering of around 10 lakh people and 15,000 to 20,000 vehicles, leading to days of uncertainty over traffic movement and security arrangements.

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Traders seek compensation

CTI said it had written to Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, before the event, seeking a postponement of the rally until after Diwali. The body has now asked who will compensate traders, factory owners and small businesses for the disruption.

“Who will compensate the traders?” Goyal said, arguing that the business community should not have to bear the cost of a political event held during the peak shopping season.

The ₹11,000-crore figure is CTI’s own estimate, based on its assessment of closed shops and disrupted commercial activity; it has not been independently verified. Other trade bodies placed the overall loss in a similar range of ₹10,000 crore to ₹12,000 crore.