A total of 124 shops in South Delhi were sealed on Monday by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi on the fourth day of its sealing drive, resumed as per the orders of the Supreme Court.
During the sealing drive, which resumed Monday morning after a two-day break, the MCD sealed 111 shops at Hans Raj Gupta in south zone of the corporation.
Another 13 shops were put to seal in central zone.
An MCD spokesperson said the major properties sealed included Mocha's, BM Jewellers, Corporate Guest House, Lilliput Garments and Stanley Furniture.
The sealing operation was conducted peacefully and there was no law and order problem at the sites, he said.
A total of 477 shops have been sealed during the drive, including 229 in Central zone and 248 in South Zone.
The sealing drive began on November 8 after the Supreme Court, ruling on the petitions of the Centre, MCD and the Delhi government to postpone the sealing drive, said the sealing of shops in Delhi would continue as per its directions on September 29.
The units sealed during the past three days include several shopping arcades like the CTC Plaza located at Maharani Bagh.
Falling under the sealing drive are over 40,000 traders who had submitted affidavits in the Supreme Court to close down their units by October 31.
Also falling under the purview of the drive are traders whose units fall under the negative list of items mentioned in the September 7 notification of the Urban Development Ministry.
Traders in the capital observed a Delhi bandh on Friday in protest against resumption of sealing of commercial establishments.
Though the bandh passed off peacefully, demonstrations were held in different parts of Delhi and over 300 people were detained and 12 arrested as a preventive measure.
Meanwhile, the Group of Ministers on the sealing issue discussed the issue of providing relief to traders affected by the Supreme Court order.
The GoM, headed by Home Minister Shivraj Patil, discussed various options available to the government.
"The sealing was going on while the traders had given a call for bandh. It was a matter of concern. The GoM evaluated the situation. There is tension in Delhi, but no violent incident was reported for which we thank the people of Delhi as they remained patient," Urban Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy told reporters after the hour-long meeting.
He said the GoM deliberated on how to provide relief to traders.
