AP PHOTOS: Locked shops confront buyers in Indian market

GAUHATI, India -- Rows of locked shops confront bargain-hunters for most of the day in Fancy Bazar, a nearly 200-year-old market that offered cheap prices until the COVID-19 pandemic hit Gauhati, the biggest city in India’s remote northeast. Lockdown restrictions imposed in April have now been partially eased, but shop owners are struggling to recapture the market’s bustling activity and complain that the 1 p.m. curfew is too early. Shoppers seem to prefer evening hours to escape the summer heat. The market is deserted in the afternoon, with no business for the thousands of small and big shops. “We are having a tough time with my shop only open for limited hours. On some days, I don’t have a single customer,” said Bhaskar Jyoti Kalita, who sells Assam silk.