Nashik: Gold lost sheen as turnover in crores came to a standstill yesterday on the first day of the eight-day complete closure called by the Nashik Saraf Association to curb the growing contagion of Coronavirus and break its transmission chain. Around eighty-five per cent shopkeepers responded to the call by keeping their jewellery shops closed. However, around 10 to 15 per cent of the shops in the market were remained opened. The Saraf Bazar has been almost closed for the last three months since the lockdown. The market missed pick seasons of wedding ceremony, auspicious Gudi Padwa and Akshay Tritiya and deprived of turnover in crores. However in the meantime, relaxation in the lockdown and due to the second phase of the Unlock 2, customers again rushed to the markets to buy precious metals. However, increasing crowd at shops compelled the jewellery traders to keep their shops closed for eight days.
The decision to close the market for eight days was taken as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of corona to local traders and consumers. The number of corona patients in the city has been increasing for the past 15 days. A big rush is seen in the Saraf market. There are few shops opened for customers who had placed their orders in advance. – Chetan Rajapurkar, President, Nashik Saraf Association
