Bharat bandh: Agony ends, but at what cost?
Fruit vendors, merchants and general public affected by the two-day nationwide stir
Strike hits fruit vendors hard
Kochi: Fruit vendors in the state are prominent among those hit hard by the two-day nationwide strike as their stock perishes fast. “We did not stock up fruit in large quantities on Saturday and Sunday in view of the two-day nationwide strike. However, a major portion of even that limited stock remains unsold,” said Zubair, who owns a fruit shop in Ernakulam market. He hardly found any buyers on Monday and Tuesday. “Our sales dropped by 60 per cent dip on these two days.” He said even juice shops and cool drinks shops, which purchase the fruits in bulk, did not do so this time. “Most of these shops were closed and so there were no bulk purchase,” he said.
Business sector reels under loss
Kochi: Gurudas Shenoy, owner of Jaybharat Cycle and Motors Co situated on Broadway here, believes that the strike is pointless, especially when small and medium-size businesses are yet to recover from the losses suffered during the pandemic. He defied the strike and opened his shop on the second day of the nationwide strike. “A 48-hour strike is unacceptable. We can shut down our business for a day and bear the loss. However, a 48-hour strike disrupts normal life,” said the 32-year-old.
Will protesters pay our rent, asks shop owner
Kochi: Strikes have always been a bane for not only the general public but also merchants, vendors and other businesses, said Tommy T D, owner of Cellular Gallery, who has been running the business for more than a decade. According to him, when these protesters try to get him to down the shutters, he only has one question for them. “Will you pay the rent and the day’s salary of my staff?”