Earnings down by 70 per cent, say shops in popular tourist destination The Shiv Sena-called bandh in Lonavala city was successful, but the common man lost out on earning his daily bread. With Monday anyway a day of low turnout for tourists at the hill station, the city was hit harder by the bandh as it meant whatever little business it does after the weekend tourists have left was also denied it. Shopkeepers estimated their earning had gone down by 70 per cent. The streets, which are always bustling with crowds, wore a deserted look, except for the heavy police presence. About 600 policemen were deployed, including the State Reserve Police Force and Special Task Force of the Rural police. Popular hangouts and chikki outlets were closed. While most of the shopkeepers kept their shops shut for the fear of violence, a few voluntarily followed the bandh call. Only in the evening did the city come back to normal. "Shiv Sena leaders and activists had held a meeting in Lonavala on Sunday and appealed to us to keep our shops shut. We had to follow the bandh appeal as Lonavala is a small town and we have good relations with all political parties, including the Shiv Sena," said Mangilal Sirvi of the Purohit Sweet Mart on the main road. Ashutosh Agarwal from one of the Maganlal Chikki outlets reported a 50 per cent drop in business for the famous chikki shop. "Our business was definitely affected but we had no other option to keep the shop shut," said Agarwal. "As Monday is a weekday, tourist turnout is anyway low, but still there was about 50 per cent drop in business compared to the previous week." Deepak Pujari, who owns Hotel Deepak in the city market, said he had to sit twiddling his thumbs through the day. "Usually we have about a 1,000 people visiting our hotel on any day, but today there were no tourists nor did locals ventured out," said Pujari.

Navratri=non-stop fun

Earnings down by 70 per cent, say shops in popular tourist destination

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