Business in Mumbai takes a massive hit as withdrawal of Rs 1000 and 500 notes nearly halves commerce.Mumbai, the country’s economic powerhouse, has been significantly impacted since November 8, when the demonetisation move was announced by the government. The withdrawal of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes has impacted everyone from restaurateurs to daily wage labourers, and business is down everywhere. Property registrations are nearly half of what they were prior to November 9; restaurants and street hawkers have seen a 50% drop in daily earnings, and traders at Navi Mumbai APMC, the city’s main agricultural produce market, are reporting a 50 per cent drop in business after the central government’s demonetisation measure. A ballpark estimate of just the losses the above sectors have incurred over the last 9 days is around Rs 700 crore, and that should provide an illuminating picture of the trough demonetisation has landed Mumbai in.“It seems business is 50 to 75% down, depending on the sector, but the sectors where discretionary expenses are involved such as entertainment are hit the hardest,” said Atul Joshi, CEO, Oyster Capital Management.The buzzing restaurant industry that generates as much as Rs 32,000 crore per annum has also been affected. According to Indian Hotels and Restaurant Association (AHAR), business has been down by 40%. “Restaurants in Mumbai generate around Rs 90 crore a day, but now it’s down to around half that. In the first few days following the demonetisation, it was around 60%. However, things have stabilized a bit now,” says Adarsh Shetty, president, AHAR. The daily turnover of the retail sector – and that includes groceries, bakeries, chemists and garment stores, among others – has plummeted nearly 50% to Rs 350 crore. “People are spending only on essentials and emergencies, because of which sales are down by 50%. If we fail to do business this festive and wedding season it will cause enormous losses to us,” said Viren Shah, president of the Retail Traders Welfare Association.The real estate market, another bellwether of economic activity, has also been depressed. According to figures from the state’s department of Registration and Stamps, there has been a 37% dip in daily registrations of property – from 7,300 documents to 4500 documents -- since November 10. While the average daily collection is around Rs 65 crore, after demonetization, the department has made only Rs. 45 crores per day. This takes the average revenue loss to over Rs. 20 crore per day. “We are closely monitoring the registrations and will analyse the data. There has been a dip,” said Dr Ramaswami N, Inspector General of Registration and Controller of Stamps (IGR). “There has been a 50% drop in walk in customers and enquiries. The real estate market will be hit in the short term. More than new properties, the resale market will be badly hit,” said Dr. Samantak Das, Chief Economist and National Director, Knight Frank India Ltd.The daily earnings of the city’s around 100,000 auto drivers, too, has been affected. “We collectively earn around Rs 450 crores a month on an average, but over the last nine days, autorickshaw drivers have seen a 50 per cent drop in earnings,” said Shashank Rao , who heads the Auto Rickshawmens Association. The Mumbai Taximen's Union says that business is down by 25%.Theatres, especially single-screen properties, have also been heavily impacted. ““Single-screen theatres are badly hit. We have only had 30% of the total business in the last few days. We cannot even bring down ticket prices as the state government has a stake in it,” said Manoj Desai, executive director, G7 Multiplex and Maratha Mandir.Traders at Navi Mumbai APMC said that the demand for fruits has been particularly hit. Retailers are placing fewer orders at the market as many cash-strapped households are buying only essential commodities.While APMC secretary Shivaji Pahinkar insisted the government’s decision to withdraw Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 had not affected the market, traders told Mirror that their daily business was down from around Rs 8 crore to Rs 4.5 crore.“Overall, the demand is poor because there is a serious problem of cash flow in the market,” said fruit trader and former APMC director Sanjay Pansare. According to Mumbai Jewellers Association, sale of bullion, gold and gold-studded diamonds has come down by 75 percent. Economist Jayraj Salgaonkar warns that unless steps are taken to improve liquidity, we could see a short-term recession. “Since inflation is down, it is right time for the RBI governor to bring down interest rates and boost demand,” said Salgaokar.