Over Rs 500 crore loss in Chennai due to bandh

Chennai: Though normal life was not affected, trading and business activities remained affected across Tamil Nadu. Commercial hubs Parry's, T Nagar and Purasawalkam remained deserted till Tuesday evening. The one-day bandh means a transaction loss of more than Rs 500 crore in Chennai and other districts also saw deserted markets, industry sources said.

In Chennai and Coimbatore, jewellers and textile showrooms also remained closed. Most of the cinema theatres in all tier cities cancelled the noon and matinee shows, but were open for the evening and night shows. Capital Chennai breathed easy with all arterial roads Anna Salai, Poonamallee High road and Inner ring road witnessing the free flow of traffic throughout the day.

With roadside eateries, tea shops and hotels remaining closed, Amma canteens in Chennai saw an increase in footfall. “All our canteens prepared extra food and were sold out within a few hours”, said a corporation official, adding that canteens recorded an increase of 20 per cent sales on Tuesday. “There are about 25 lakh traders in Chennai include four lakh traders related to hotel and makeshift eat outs. The majority of them participated in the strike extending the support to TN farmers”, said A.M. Vikarama Raja, president, Tamil Nadu Vanigar Sangam Peramaippu. Chen-nai suffered a transaction loss of at least '100 crore from the small stores dealing with provisions and essential commodities and another '100 crore is the per day operational cost loss to the traders. The impact was maximum in Chennai, Madurai, Coimbatore districts. Wholesale markets in Virudhunagar, Theni and Trichy remained closed, Vikramaraja said.

“Tuesdays are usually a dull day for business, but the bandh had affected more than 20 per cent of the retail business. The impact will be more on small vendors and traders”, said Entrepreneur Vasantha Kumar, founder, Vasanth & Co. “Fishermen who are already observing a 45-day fishing ban also extended their support to the bandh. Fishermen with small catamarans and boats that usually fish within the coastal waters even during the ban period refrained from business”, said Nanjil P. Ravi, spokesperson, Akila Inthiya Meenavar Sangham.