Delhi / All weekly markets in Delhi to reopen from Monday: CM Arvind Kejriwal

New Delhi: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Saturday that weekly markets in the national capital will be allowed to reopen from Monday, explaining that this is because his government is worried about people's livelihoods.

"Weekly markets are being opened from Monday. These are poor people. Government is quite concerned about their livelihoods. However, everyone's health and lives are also important. I urge everyone to follow Covid-19 appropriate behaviour after these markets are opened," Kejriwal posted on Twitter.

The announcement by the Delhi chief minister will bring relief to street vendors who had demanded that weekly markets be allowed to reopen as well. On August 2, the Delhi high court sought response from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government over a plea filed by the Saptahik Patri Bazar Association, a body of weekly markets, challenging the government's decision to open malls and markets, but not weekly markets.

The national capital was under a Covid-19 induced lockdown from April 19 to May 30, as the country battled a devastating second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. The city began reopening from May 31 as daily infections began to decline, allowing the government to introduce a new set of relaxations every week. As a result, while most services opened one after the other, weekly markets were allowed to function with the condition that only one such market will open everyday, that too in only one municipal zone. Delhi has 12 municipal zones in all.

On the Covid-19 front, the city logged 72 fresh infections, 22 recoveries and one death in the last 24 hours, a health department bulletin showed on Saturday. With this, Delhi's cumulative Covid-19 infection count has increased to 1,436,695, including 1,411,064 recoveries, 25,066 deaths and 565 active cases, the bulletin showed.