BENGALURU: For over eight years, 44-year-old Suresh has been catering to the residents of GM Palya, CV Raman Nagar. The lockdown had initially left the tender coconut vendor in a fix with uncertainties over stock procurement from his hometown of Mandya. But he put that to rest with assurances from suppliers who have been delivering stock on a regular basis. Suresh’s day starts at 7 am when he organises his stock and sets up shop at a corner side of the vicinity.
This is followed by a rigorous round of cleaning his supply, sanitising his cart, ensuring ample supply of paper straws and maintaining social distancing. However, the difficulties for Suresh have only increased. “Business is down without a doubt and stock prices have also shot up. Although I am able to set up shop, it comes at a higher expenditure with uncertainties over revenue earned by the day,” he says, adding that the lockdown has definitely taken a hit on his daily earnings.
While he expresses relief over his family being safe in his hometown of Mandya, when it comes to his own safety, he does his bit by wearing a mask that he sanitisies every day before attending to each customer. “My family is faring well and is thankfully in a less affected zone. While concerns have been raised over me stepping about, I am helpless as this is my daily earning routine. It’s all I have,” says Suresh. As usual, he waits till 9 pm before calling it a day. His only hope now is things resolving in the coming weeks with business coming back to normal.