The INA Traders' Association decided in their meeting on Thursday to the lower profit margins by five to ten per cent and in cases of non-perishable items to even less, in order to stay in business and to stop the ebb of customers.

``We haven't seen a crisis like this in years. The sales have come down by more than 60 per cent. The customers are coming in a tickle, but the government is taking no steps help us stay in business. We decided to do something on our own. Everyone has been asked to lower profit margins by five to ten per cent and in case of fabrics and other non-perishable consumer items to do away with the profits for the time being. Otherwise people will stop coming to this market,'' said Radheshyam Gulati, vice president, INA Traders' Association.

According to members of the traders' association, the worst hit is the garment and fruit traders. In fact, the market wore a deserted look in the pick hours in the late afternoon, when the customer inflow is supposed to highest in the warmer seasons.

``When people are paying Rs 17 per kg for milk and Rs 50 per kg for tomato and Rs 15 per kg for potato, how will they buy clothes or fruits. They have become luxury items,'' said Madanlal Bhutani, general secretary of the association.

The traders blamed the hoarders and stockists for the present crisis. ``They are hoarding things and releasing them in the market very slowly, to push up the prices even further. This added to the bad rains have really affected the vegetable trade. The government's claim of regulated prices in the official outlets is also an eyewash. Only the low grade stuff is available there and that too is picked up in seconds. All the time you are faced placates saying `potato over', `tomato over', `onion over','' said Gulati.

Though regarded as BJP stronghold, the INA Traders' Association members seemed to be upset with the government preoccupation with international issues and nuclear bombs. ``Jab khane ka intezam nahin hai, tab bomb banane ki kya zarurat thi? (When there is no arrangement for food, what's the point of making bombs?). Ab saab chhod ke foreign countries ke saath hello, hi karna par raha hai (Now they are forced to forget about everything else and court foreign nations),'' a trader said in disgust.

They also complained about the civic problems. ``The electricity goes off for five to six hours every day. And the generators fumes are driving away whatever little customers we get. Business has never been so dull in this market,'' M. Sachdeva, a trader, lamented.