HYDERABAD: The days following the incessant Monday rains in Hyderabad have resulted in Old city vendors taking a severe beating.Anwar, who earns his living by selling incense stick near Charminar, said, “These items are chosen by the customers for their sheen and colour. The profit I earn from their sale is anyway meagre. After the rains washing off their colour, I could hardly find any takers for them.”
On Monday, with rains lashing the city during evening hours —the peak hour for sales on the road stretch from Madina Market to Pathergatti, most of the vendors were compelled to return home empty handed.
“I was eagerly waiting for customers with hangers holding a new collection of kids’ dresses. With the rains, every possibility for sales was gone. Moreover, many of the dresses got spoiled. I was running while calling out one or two customers in my sight,” lamented another vendor Ibrahim. Even on Tuesday and Wednesday, most of the vendors saw a drop in the sales of items like garments, mats and junk jewellery by 50 per cent, with rain havoc adversely affecting customer footfall.
“Who will think of street shopping when there are open potholes across the city. So, in the last three days, even the Old City market, like the other parts coping with powercuts and inundations, have worn a grim look. Sans customers, which market will flourish,” said Mohammad Moin whose velvet mats worth of `1500 got spoiled in the rain.Mohammad Jehangir, who sells footwear on a roadside corner said he was horrified to see many of the slippers from his stall falling in muddy water.“I have no count of how many pairs of footwear were lost. I was disappointed to return home empty handed on Monday and am eagerly waiting for normalcy to prevail in the city,” he said.
Expect more rains in the evenings: IMD
The city witnessed a short spell of rainfall for about 40 minutes at several places causing traffic congestion’s at several junctions. Tirumalagiri, Madhapur, and Kapra were few areas where the rainfall was highest recorded. The spell which lasted for about forty minutes started at 3:30 pm. Tirumalagiri recorded the highest rainfall at 2.2 cm, Madhapur recorded 1.6 cm, and Kapra recorded 1.4 cm of rainfall. Even with the short spell of rain, many drains overflew. Meanwhile, the Hyderabad Centre of Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted thundershowers or rains to occur for next two days. It also warned for several districts in Telangana to expect heavy rains.