Most markets in Delhi were closed on Wednesday as thousands of traders joined a mega rally at the Ramlila grounds to protest against the sealing of allegedly illegal commercial establishments in the Capital over the past three months.

More than seven lakh businesses in over 3,000 markets were shut on Wednesday, according to The Times of India. Traders, their families as well as the staff participated in the rally, PTI reported. During the demonstration, the protesters burnt an effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The strike, called by traders’ bodies such as the Chamber of Trade Industries, Confederation of All India Traders, Indian Industries and Trade Group and Federation of Trade Association, affected major markets including those in Karol Bagh, Lajpat Nagar, Connaught Place, Chandni Chowk, Sadar Bazar, Laxmi Nagar, South Extension, Greater Kailash, Sarojini Nagar and Uttam Nagar, The Indian Express reported.

“Trade and commerce in Delhi will remain completely closed on March 28,” Praveen Khandelwal, the general secretary of CAIT, told PTI earlier. “Both wholesale and retail markets will take part in the trade bandh.”

The traders’ main demand is that the Centre introduce a bill or promulgate an ordinance to stop the sealing drive. They have also asked the Aam Aadmi Party-led government in Delhi to move a bill in the state Assembly to temporarily stop the sealing, reports said.

“We want the Delhi government to pass a bill in the current Assembly session for a moratorium on sealing and forward the same to the Centre for its approval,” Khandelwal told the Hindustan Times.

The traders allege that the Supreme Court-appointed monitoring committee had “adopted an arbitrary mood” while sealing the shops. They said many establishments were being sealed without show-cause notices.

“Hundreds of shops have been shut because of this sealing drive and thousands of workers employed in those enterprises have now turned jobless,” said Rajesh Kumar of the Indian Federation of Trade Union (Delhi unit). “The BJP government is not stopping this because they care only about the multinationals.”

Traders said they will not send their children to school on Wednesday as a mark of protest.

“We have booked 75% of the Ramlila grounds while the rest will be used for Anna Hazare’s movement,” Vinod Basin, a member of the All Delhi Traders, Vyapari and Workers Association, told the Hindustan Times. “We have arranged for 1,000 volunteers, 150 men and 50 women bouncers, and another 50 guards to manage crowds near the entrances.”

What is the sealing drive?

The drive began in December after the Supreme Court ordered the sealing of commercial establishments over encroachment, illegal constructions and non-payment of conversion charges. The sealing drive is carried out by three municipal corporations under the supervision of a monitoring committee appointed by the court.

After repeated protests by the traders over the past three months, leaders from the Aam Aadmi Party, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress asked the Supreme Court-appointed panel earlier in March to suspend the drive. The panel, however, did not provide any assurance.