BENGALURU: For nine years, Satisha’s morning routine has been the same. He leaves his house in Malleswaram at 4.30 am and makes his way across town to deliver newspapers to the residents of Vasanthnagar and Shivajinagar. These days, however, this commute has turned out to be more eerie than before. “There’s no one on the street. It’s like riding through a dark forest,” says the newspaper vendor, who adds, “It was never like this before the coronavirus. No matter what the hour, you found vehicles on the road.”
Since the announcement of a country-wide lockdown six days ago, many have been waking up to the sight of empty doormats outside their home. Satisha’s clients, however, don’t figure on this list. “Earlier, my team and I delivered 700 newspapers a day. Today, I only have 200 papers. Since most of these people are elderly, reading the news is an essential part of their morning,” he says. It’s clear that duty always comes first for Satisha, who has even shelled out his own money to invest in a mask and gloves. “I make sure I sanitise my hands before I collect the newspapers,” he adds.
With companies rolling out work-from- home initiatives, commercial buildings too don an empty look – a fact that makes Satisha’s heart heavier, and pocket lighter. While such establishments call for 10-15 newspapers and many magazines, residential clients only opt for one or two mainstream broadsheets a day. “They aren’t that profitable for us. We have to climb so many floors just to deliver newspapers that only give us a commission of `64 a month,” he says. With offices and some residents temporarily putting a halt to their newspaper subscriptions, vendors like Satisha are seeing losses to the tune of `30,000-`40,000 now. “But what am I to do? I don’t have another source of income,” he rues.
The 43-year-old resides with his wife – a bank employee – and two kids, aged 13 and 9. Scared for his health, they too urge Satisha to stop making his daily rounds for some days, an idea he has considered. “But what about those people who rely on the paper? I recently got a call from the wife of one of my clients. She told me her husband wouldn’t drink his morning coffee without it. After nine years, these customers are like my family too,” he says in a resigned tone.