VIJAYAWADA: Shopkeepers and street vendors at Besant Road, who pinned hopes of carrying out their business during the Unlock 1.0, are a worried lot. With four people working in a readymade clothing store on testing positive for the virus, the authorities concerned imposed curbs till June 30 to contain the spread of the virus.
Besant Road, which houses more than 250 shops including cosmetics, garments, readymade clothes, crockery and hardware items is the worst-affected during the two-month lockdown period. From June 1, the business activities resumed partially and the public in limited numbers are thronging the stores to purchase clothes, cosmetics and crockery items.
Besant Road, one of the busiest stretches in the city, wore a deserted look on Wednesday as shopping complexes remained closed. Apart from the shopkeepers and street vendors, around 50 hamalis were found sitting idle before the closed shops due to lack of work.
G Siva, a shopkeeper who runs a bags shop, told TNIE that before the lockdown, he used to make business of around Rs 10,000 per day and now he is hardly able to make only `2,000 per day. “Almost two-and-half months, I sat idle at home and faced a tough time. Hoping for a new start post-lockdown, I have approached a moneylender. I pledged my wife’s gold ornaments, borrowed some amount and purchased the stocks,” he said.
Siva said that June is the crucial month for shopkeepers and vendors as educational institutions will reopen after summer vacation and public throng to purchase school bags and lunch boxes. “But now, the authorities have imposed curbs till June 30,” he lamented.
Another vendor, N Gopi, who sells perfumes and cosmetics, hasn’t earned anything in the last two months. His family of four has been surviving with little money from their savings. “I have procured stocks from Kolkata before the lockdown. With the limited number of people thronging the markets, I have decided to clear the existing stock by selling it at half the price to customers,” he said. A Lalitha, a sales representative at a boutique, said, “Youngsters, especially school and college-going students are our main customers. Due to low footfall, our business has been reduced by 75 per cent.”