COVID-19 effect: Durga Puja restrictions deal body blow to street vendors in Bhubaneswar

The restrictions imposed on Durga puja festival in view of Covid-19 pandemic have dealt a body blow to the street vendors in the city.
Ignoring social distance norms, people do shopping at Unit-2 market in Bhubaneswar. (Photo| Biswanath Swain, EPS)
Ignoring social distance norms, people do shopping at Unit-2 market in Bhubaneswar. (Photo| Biswanath Swain, EPS)

CUTTACK:  The restrictions imposed on Durga puja festival in view of COVID-19 pandemic have dealt a body blow to the street vendors in the city. Over 4,000 small businessmen, street vendors, artisans and craftsmen look forward to the festival season as this is the time when their earnings go up substantially. In the five days of Durga puja, they earn as much that can see them through for the next three to four months.

Besides locals, many from other parts of the State and outside come to the city during puja, with a hope to earn by selling their products. They used to set up their makeshift stalls near the puja pandals and sell various goods for five days from Shasti to Vijaya Dashami.

Their sales reach a peak during the immersion ceremony which sees the highest turnout of people. The traditional immersion route from Ranihat to Devi Gada via Buxi Bazaar and Choudhry Bazaar, and on the footpath of Ring Road from Khannagar Malachandia Chowk to Devi Gada are usually lined up with all kinds of stalls, from food to craft and wares.

However, the pandemic has snatched away their livelihood this year with the administration restricting the puja to only rituals in the closed puja mandaps. "We have suffered immensely for the last six months due to lockdown and shutdown and were hopeful of the puja to allow us to get on our feet again. All hopes have died now and our survival is at stake," said a street vendor. 

A 70-year-old widow Rebarani Dei of Bamphi Sahi used to sell roasted grams, peas and groundnuts near Jhanjiri Mangala mandap and earn a profit of Rs 4,000 to 5,000 during puja. "The money was a huge help in supplementing family income. I don’t know what to do this year," she lamented. 

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The New Indian Express
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