Zaveri Bazar picking up pace, one day at a time
Every time a photograph of Zaveri Bazar crops up in front of our eyes, the crowded lanes never fail to catch our attention. Yet, in a span of a few months, this very photograph is enough to startle even the most optimistic among us.
Shops opened on Friday after a two month lockdown. The shop owners are aware it will take some time to bounce back and they feel accepting this reality is the first step towards normalcy. The government has asked the shopkeepers to follow the oddeven rule. According to reports, there are around 3,000 stores in the area.
“It is a good step, as in, we had to slowly get back on our feet. Except Mumbai, many places had opened up. Business hasn’t picked up quickly, but it was expected. We can say that it has picked up at the rate of 25-30%,” says Vinod Jain, director, Indian Bullion and Jewellers Association (IBJW). IBJW is a 101-year-old organisation which oversees the entire jewellery supply chain in the country. Everything from bullion to mines-to-market comes under its umbrella.
The government’s guidelines stipulate that not more than three people can be inside the showroom at a time. Jain also quips that from now on, jewellery store managers will have to get used to people entering in masks.
For Surendra Mehta, the secretary of IBJW, it all depends on the city’s lifeline – the local trains. “It might be easier for people nearby to travel. But, many who work in the city live in the suburbs. So, as long as train services are shut, the backbone of the city will be weak.”