Economic losses due to closure of Ima Keithels pegged at Rs 38.78 Cr
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, January 19 2021: Closure of the three Ima Keithels of Khwairamband in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a loss of over Rs 38.78 crore.

Social researcher Serto Tondana Kom has been studying economic impacts of bandhs and blockades, State Government's failure to submit utilisation certificates to the Centre and the State budgets.

Speaking to media persons at Manipur Press Club here this afternoon, Serto Tondana Kom said that the State Domestic Product (SDP) for 2019-20 at the current price is Rs 1,94,840 as per a report obtained from the Directorate of Economics and Statistics and it implies that the average daily SDP is Rs 353 .

There are 6522 vendors at Khwairamband who have been given licences by the Imphal Municipal Corporation (IMC) .

Economic losses due to closure of Ima Keithels pegged at Rs 38.78 Cr

Out of them, 3614 are occupants of the three Ima Keithels.

Of the 3614 vendors, 1690 belong to Purana Keithel, 728 to Laxmi Keithel and 1196 to the New Market, Serto Tondana said.

On the other hand, the three Ima Keithels have been closed since March 21 last year.

In another word, it has been 304 days since the three main markets have been closed.

Assuming that each vendor earns Rs 353 in a day (average daily SDP), the 3614 vendors lose Rs 12,75,742 in a day.

It means the total loss incurred by the vendors in the last 304 days is Rs 38.78 crore, he elaborated.

According to the 5th and 6th Economic Census reports obtained from the Directorate of Economics and Statistics, there are around 1,51,330 people engaged in retail trade and 52,966 (35 per cent) are women, Serto Tondana said.

It is not the vendors alone who have been bearing the brunt of the closure of the three Ima Keithels.

The State has not been receiving any revenue from the three main markets since they were closed, he said.

Observing that prolonged closure of the three Ima Keithels does not bode well for the State's economy, he expressed keen desire to re-open the Ima Keithels by ensuring that both vendors and customers adhere to COVID-19 SOP.

He further expressed keen desire for the Government to see if monetary assistance can be extended to the vendors of the three Ima Keithels just as it assisted the Manipuri natives who came back to the State from outside in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.