NEW DELHI: Suhail Khan, a 25-year-old cloth hawker, usually remains busy during this time of the year. Khan and his brother, Ahmad, travel to Punjab and Haryana to sell jackets and other winter clothes.
But this year, since the Delhi borders have been blocked by farmers protesting against the Centre’s new agri laws for nearly a month now, Khan, a resident of Bhajanpura, has seized the opportunity to run the business from the streets of Singhu border — the epicentre of the ongoing ‘Delhi Chalo’ protest.
With hundreds of protesters joining in every day, the street vendors are gathering at the border hoping for more business. Many small-time vendors have found the space between hundreds of trucks and tractor trolleys stalled at the site to run their business.
“Since the highways are blocked, we have decided to come here and sell our products to the farmers,” says Khan. These vendors, mostly from Shahdara, Bhajanpura, Ferozabad, Seelampur, Daryaganj, Chandini Chowk and Sadar Bazar, travel about 370 km to Punjab every winter to sell seasonal and warm clothes such as sweaters, jackets, socks, shoes, caps and mufflers.
“Bhajanpura is not far away from this place. So, I and my brother come here on bikes. We have set up stalls at two different points of the border and are selling jackets for only between Rs 150 and Rs 250 and earning Rs 3,000-Rs 4,000 a day.”
Krishan, who is selling jackets, pyjamas and track pants near the protest site, says: “It’s getting cold and many farmers are buying jackets. Due to the lockdown, our business was already running in loss. That’s why we thought of setting up the stall here itself so that we don’t need to the travel to Punjab.” However, Alam, another vendor, laments that he makes little money by selling gym and travel bags. “People are hardly buying these bags and bargains too much,” he says.
14 lanes of NH9 blocked
Farmers camping at UP Gate on Delhi-Ghaziabad border on Tuesday blocked all 14 lanes of the National Highway 9 for eight hours and manhandled a journalist and photographer.The farmers blocked the arterial road highway from 9 am to 5 pm and lifted the blockade after repeated requests.