VIJAYAWADA: The Covid-19 pandemic has hit many small businesses hard. T Santhoshini, who ran a fancy shop at Ramalingeswara Nagar in the city, is one among them.“I had to close my fancy shop for more than three months due to lockdown. With no income, I could not pay even the shop rent and the owner asked me to vacate the shop,” the 37-year-old woman said.
Narrating her woes, she said, “My husband lost his job and there was no source of income for nearly two months. We managed to survive with our savings during the lockdown. After the lockdown was lifted, my husband made several attempts to get a job without any success. So I had to do something to earn money for our sustenance.”
She approached a few dealers who could lend some money or give her some fancy products to sell. But they refused. During her struggle for survival, she saw the board of a manufacturer who wanted personnel to sell sanitiser and face masks.
When she approached the manufacturer, he told her that he would provide sanitiser and face masks to sell on commission basis. With no option left, she agreed to sell sanitiser and face masks.“Instead of sitting idle at home, doing this work is better. Even if the monthly income has slumped to Rs 5,000 from Rs 15,000, it is enough to make ends meet. As we do not have a white ration card, we are not eligible to get any help from the government. Now, my husband has applied for a job in an online food delivery app. I hope he will get the job as we own a two-wheeler,” said Santhoshini.
The couple has a son, whose education has come to a halt due to their present economic situation. “We have only one smart phone, which I take to work. But that is also not compatible to online classes of my son. Unable to pay the school fee and other expenses, we are planning to admit him in a government school this year,” she said.
Santhoshini urged people to buy masks and sanitiser from small-time vendors and the self-employed instead of going for the branded ones, which will provide livelihood to many during Covid times.