COIMBATORE: The car blast at Kottaimedu has not just posed a few questions to the intelligence gathering and security apparatus, but it has also left a huge question mark on the future of vendors and shop owners on Kottai Eswaran Kovil Road.
S Neelaveni, a widow who runs a push cart tiffin stall near Sangameshwarar temple, in front of which the blast took place, said, “I used to run my stall at night for the last 17 years at the place. I couldn’t resume work since the blast due to restrictions. I am the breadwinner of my family and used to earn Rs 500 -600 a day. The loss is crippling me and I do not know when normalcy would return.”
S Bakkiyalakshmi, an elderly woman who sells vada in front of the temple echoed her. “The number of people visiting the temple has reduced after the blast and my business has been hit. My only customers now are the police personnel who are deployed in the street.”
M Vetrivel, who runs a grocery shop and pani puri stall near the temple for the last 30 years, said business has come down by half.
“During weekends, many people would visit the temple. With Kandha Shasti being observed, there should be more people, but footfall is very low for the last one week. The sale of pani puri dropped drastically as the public shied away from using the street after seeing police deployment. They fear police would question anybody at random and take action if they get even the slightest of suspicion,” he said.
Ahamed Sheik, a cloth vendor, said “We were hoping for good business as people were getting ready to celebrate Deepavali without any Covid restrictions. But the blast happened a day before the festival, which dashed our hopes. We were forced to close our shop. Though we were allowed to function the next day, there were very few shoppers.”
A 36-year-old man who sells tender coconuts from a minivan said he has not been allowed to park the vehicle on the road for security reasons. Rahman, an auto driver in Kottaimedu, said after the incident police keep implementing the one-way rules in the area arbitrarily, making it difficult for drivers.
Hemmed in by the security restrictions, traders in the area are united both in their opposition to such acts and in prayers for normalcy to return soon.