Khan Market protests and security restrictions around central Delhi have reduced business at the prominent commercial district to between 10% and 20% of normal levels, according to the Khan Market Traders Association, with traders saying barricades are keeping customers away during the festive season.
Sanjeev Mehra, president of the association, said police had established a perimeter beginning about 1 kilometre from the market to control access amid demonstrations over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. He said shops remained open but were receiving very few customers because people were uncertain about whether routes into the market were accessible.
“For the past few days, business has been taking a hit because of these protests,” Mehra said in comments to ANI carried by the Times of India. “The market is open, but there are no customers and the business is completely at a standstill. We are only able to do about 10% to 20% of our business.”
The disruption comes as the festive season begins, a period when traders generally expect higher footfall. Mehra said customers were staying away because of concerns about reaching the market and the possibility of confrontations around the protest sites. The report did not provide an estimate of the number of affected shops or the value of losses incurred.
The traders’ association said it did not oppose peaceful demonstrations but wanted commercial access and livelihoods protected. Mehra appealed to the Supreme Court to shift demonstrations from Jantar Mantar and central Delhi to the city’s borders, arguing that protests in the central area were disrupting business activity.
Brijgopal Khosla, senior vice-president of the association, said repeated demonstrations and blocked routes were discouraging customers from visiting Khan Market. He also alleged that the protests had involved disorder and clashes with police, while calling for demonstrations to be conducted peacefully and without restricting movement.
The traders’ appeal comes amid an escalating legal and political dispute over the SIR exercise. On Monday, leaders of the INDIA bloc marched through central Delhi towards the Supreme Court under the banner “March for Democracy” and filed a petition challenging the revision process.
According to the report, the petition was filed under Article 32 of the Constitution. It seeks suspension of the ongoing SIR exercise across the country until the issues raised before the court are decided. It also asks for an independent committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge to examine the implementation of the revision exercise and review the technical systems governing electoral rolls and Electronic Voting Machines.
The march and petition drew criticism from BJP leaders and allies, who accused the opposition of creating disorder and disrupting public life in the capital. The competing claims place central Delhi’s commercial areas within a wider conflict over how demonstrations can be conducted while maintaining access to businesses, residents and public institutions.
For Khan Market, the immediate issue is operational: traders say police barricading and restricted routes have sharply reduced customer access even though the market itself remains open. The traders’ request for the protest sites to be moved will now depend on the response of the authorities and the Supreme Court to the petition and related appeals.
