With less than three hours to go before the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) Tiranga March at Central Park in Connaught Place, the usually busy market wears a deserted look on Friday.Several shops and restaurants remain shut. Rapid Action Force personnel and Delhi Police officers are stationed near the park while personnel from the Central Industrial Security Force make occasional rounds inside the inner circle.Buses occupy one side of the road, while barricades jut into the lane on the other side. Vehicular movement is still allowed, but many expect it to come to a halt as the march draws closer.For those who depend on the crowds, the empty corridors mean lost earnings.At a Woodland store nearby, owner Kapil Nath, 42, is worried. “Only protesters, shopkeepers, media personnel and police are here, where can you see the customer?” he asks.Nath, who has run the shop in Connaught Place for over four decades, says October, November and December account for 70% of his business as winter, weddings and festivals bring shoppers to the market. Security personnel inside and outside the Central Park in view of CJP protest at Connaught Place in New Delhi. (Express Photo by Praveen Khanna)“Everything is finished. Who will want to bring their family along with their children here to shop? We have opened the shop but when there is a protest we’ll have to shut it in panic to take care of our staff as well, they can’t go in or go out,” he says, standing outside his store, with no customers inside.Story continues below this adAt another footwear shop, Nirmal Kumar says he was unsure until this morning whether to open for business. Sipping his afternoon tea, he says not a single customer has come to the shop so far.Also Read | ‘Rs 5-7 crore loss a day’: Khan Market traders on the cost of Delhi protests“Who will come here if they know they can be asked to leave anytime? There is a fear even among us. The situation has been like this even since August, when they shut the internet, people are even unable to pay,” Kumar says.The few people walking through the market’s bylanes are office employees out for a post-lunch walk and groups of students. Security personnel inside and outside the Central Park in view of CJP protest at Connaught Place in New Delhi. (Express Photo by Praveen Khanna)Near Palika Bazaar, Umesh Sharma, 52, an auto-rickshaw driver who has come from Laxmi Nagar, says he has only earned just Rs 100 so far, after spending Rs 500 on CNG in the morning.Story continues below this ad“When nobody comes here, who will we ferry?… protests used to take place, but it did not affect us. Such protests should be allowed only before elections,” he adds.Inside the inner circle, a group of boys sitting on a bench are trying to work out when the march will begin.“3 baje se hai kya? Ki 5 baje se? (Is it from 3 pm or 5 pm?)” one asks. Security personnel inside and outside the Central Park in view of CJP protest at Connaught Place in New Delhi. (Express Photo by Praveen Khanna)“But let’s not wait till then,” another quips.Story continues below this adAt the entrance to Central Park, large white banners declare the park closed for the day and the following day. “Central Park remains closed today and tomorrow. No kind of entry is allowed and if someone enters, legal action will be taken against them,” they read.