‘IT gadgets should also be dubbed ‘essentials’ as 1000s now work from home’

CHENNAI: Ever since the lockdown was announced, demand for IT and electronics goods has grown due to scores of employees working from home. However, with Ritchie Street, the hub of electronic gadgets closed, techies and traders have urged the government to include them in the essential sector as well.

Several IT employees have been posting in online social platforms seeking help to get their mobile phones and laptops fixed.“I wanted to buy an internet router for a wi-fi connection at home for my laptop but haven’t been able to get one,” said T Praveen, who works for an IT company in the city. He further added that as companies have made thousands work from home, IT gadgets and the stores that sell them should also be classified as ‘essentials’.

“We have been getting at least five to six calls daily for fixing laptops and also orders for brand new laptops, but our shops are shut,” said N Kumaran, a trader at Ritchie street.As several companies were shut in short notice,  not all firms had time to provide their employees with laptops, he added.Also, with several parts coming from China, vendors predict that it will take at least a month for the situation to normalise in the sector.

R  Chandalia, secretary of the Chennai Electronics and Infotech Traders Association of Ritchie Street said: “It will take us 10 days or more to get our shops running normally even after the lockdown is removed”. This is the right time for India to begin manufacturing IT devices as the pandemic has dented China’s image, he emphasised.

Made in china
With several gadget parts coming from China, vendors predict that it will take at least a month for situation to normalise