GUWAHATI: While Meghalaya government remains undecided to reopening the state’s main commercial hub Iewduh because of COVID-19 pandemic situation, in Assam people have decided to observe undeclared boycott of Fancy Bazaar, arguable the region’s biggest commercial centre.
So many plus shopping malls, imposing departmental stores and stand-alone plus retail outlets of popular brands have cropped along the Guwahati skyline in recent times, still Fancy Bazaar has remained the most-visited market place for people from all walks of life especially those from middleclass and lower middleclass.
But all encompassing fear of COVID-19 pandemic have taken its toll on this old and most popular market place and people have stayed off it for their safety given that many areas in the vicinity of Fancy Bazaar have reported COVID-19 patients and containment zones have been declared all along the fringe areas of the market by the administration.
As customers have ticked off Fancy Bazaar from their list of must-visit places during the period ruled by the pandemic period shopkeepers have to bear the brunt just when business was just limping back to normalcy since Unlock 0.1 was set on the roll by the government following a prolonged lockdown since March 25 last.
The roads look almost deserted in the biggest commercial hub in the Northeast where pedestrians usually used to find it difficult to make way through the noisy crowd of roadside vendors.