New Delhi, Feb 27 (IANS): In wake of violence that swept across northeast Delhi in the past few days claiming several lives, and also causing loss of property, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on Thursday requested Home Minister Amit Shah to provide compensation to traders whose shops and businesses have been damaged.

It also said that the affected traders should be provided loans at low interest rates to restart their businesses.

Along with seeking protection for the traders in the violence-hit areas, the traders' body, in its letter to the Home Minister, also said that the insured traders should get their insurance money as soon as possible.

"CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal has requested that the traders or merchandise shops which have been damaged in the recent incidents should be given compensation from the government immediately and the people who have been insured should get insurance money from the respective insurers. The government should issue orders to all insurance companies to settle claims immediately," a CAIT statement said.

"CAIT has also requested that the government should provide easy loans at discounted interest rate to sufferer traders so that they can resume their business," it said.

Khandelwal observed that the incidents have severely affected Delhi's trade which has reduced drastically.

"In any type of violent incident, the traders and their establishments are always a soft target and not only their lives but also on the goods stocked by them remains at stake. There is an atmosphere of extreme fear and dread among the traders in Delhi," the statement said.

Many shops among other properties have been gutted in the past few days. The death toll has climbed to 36 so far, as per official records, in the deadliest violence in the national capital in decades after clashes between pro and anti-CAA protesters started in northeast Delhi on Sunday and then took on communal overtones.