Lockdowns and curfews not a solution, economy is being hit: Maruti Chairman

Lockdowns and curfews are only hurting the economy and leading to migration of the poor and labour from larger cities, says Maruti Chairman RC Bhargava. Instead of state-wide closures, he suggested that governments should look at having restrictions only within specific containment zones that are badly impacted because of COVID-19 pandemic.

Bhargava told ToI that the cure must not be worse than the disease. He highlighted that prolonged and widespread lockdowns will only hit the economy, as well as impact dealer sales and production at factories.

“If the markets are shut, then demand will fall. Any prolonged shutdown will mean demand will go down. Production cannot continue if sales stop,” Bhargava said. “You can’t run factories if dealerships are shut. It doesn’t make sense. Where will I send the cars that I produce? I need to have the sales outlets open and people buying cars and taking deliveries from dealerships.”

The executive explained that blanket solutions such as full lockdown or curfew may end up doing more harm than benefit as the economy slips and poor suffer. “I am not happy with such a clampdown. We cannot afford shutdowns. It has a crippling impact on the economy and hurts the poor more, which also leads to migration of labour. What will they do if there are shutdowns?” he asked.

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Bhargava pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also said that the country needs to be saved from full lockdown as much as possible, and it should be enforced only as a last resort. Instead of widespread closures, he suggested that only areas that have many COVID cases should be marked as containment and restricted zones. “Let normal business continue in other areas. Let everybody follow safety protocols, for example, at dealerships or restaurants. If they don’t follow the norms and protocols, then shut them down.”