New Delhi: Rising air pollution in Delhi-NCR is hitting markets hard, with traders reporting a significant drop in footfall and sales during the New Year season.In a letter to Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav, the Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) highlighted the visible impact of deteriorating air quality on retail activity. CTI chairman Brijesh Goyal said the city’s air quality reached the ‘severe’ category, prompting shoppers to avoid markets. “Earlier, around 3–4 lakh people from NCR visited Delhi daily for shopping. Due to pollution, this has dropped to nearly 1 lakh,” he noted. CTI also warned that the problem extends beyond Delhi, with cities like Noida, Faridabad, Gurgaon and Sonipat also experiencing severe air quality levels. The traders’ body urged the central govt to convene a joint emergency meeting with the chief ministers and environment ministers of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. CTI Patron Suresh Agarwal and vice-president Rajesh Khanna cautioned that without strict measures, business losses would mount. The body expressed readiness to cooperate if authorities implement staggered market timings to curb pollution.
