Jharkhand finance minister Rameshwar Oraon on Friday said the government sympathised with the garment store owners who are barred from relaxations during the lockdown and assured them that they would be allowed to reopen soon with separate protocols.

The state had recently witnessed protests by the shop owners after they were barred from the relaxation. The traders had demanded the government to allow them to reopen their stores, and agreed to follow social-distancing norms.

“It is not viable for the government to allow the garment shops to reopen, as the shops attract a large number of customers. People visiting these shops have a habit of checking the quality of the clothes by touching them. This might lead to infection,” said Oraon at the Circuit House.

“Even salespersons are exposed to the virus. Keeping this in mind, the government is working on some specific restrictions before allowing the relaxation. These could include controlled opening-closing time of garment shops, limited number of customers and others precautions like sanitisation,” he added.

Oraon said the garments shops had a huge revenue share in the market.

“The government wants to reopen the shops soon and bring the economy of the state back on track, but with certain restrictions,” he reiterated.