THOOTHUKUDI: Eral town, a town that used to always bustle with shoppers on Christmas eve, wore a deserted and gloomy look on Sunday.
The town, a key commercial centre in the southern part of the district and the wholesale sale market for traders in 40 to 50 adjacent villages, is yet to get over the shock in the aftermath of the flood.
“A week right before Christmas, textile, firecracker and grocery shops have been washed away”, Tamil Nadu Vanigar Sangangalin Peramaippu south district president Kamaraj said.
The situation is the same in Alwarthirunagari, Srivaikuntam, Eral, Authoor, Punnakayal and other places that were flooded.
Eral, situated on the northern banks of Thamirabarani between Srivaikuntam and Authoor, is famous for wholesale markets for a variety of products.
The commercial streets house several wholesale rice, grocery, textile, fodder, vessel, iron scrap, silver and jewellery shops, which have been affected by the flood.
The flash flood submerged the town under 15-20 feet of water, engulfing all shops on the main commercial street. Each of the shops had materials to a tune of Rs 5 lakh to Rs 5 crore, say trade leaders.
“Textile showrooms and small shops had received big consignments for Christmas and New Year sales. However, garments worth several crores were washed away,” said shopkeepers.
Manivannan, a wholesale grocery shop owner, said he lost goods worth Rs 70 lakh in the flood.
“If I have to reopen the shop, I need products worth at least Rs 25 lakh. Since we had balance unpaid, the suppliers would not give the product on credit,” he said.
Given the huge loss and damages incurred, traders have appealed to the state government to provide interest-free loans for five years as capital investment in order to reopen shops.
The traders of the Eral region say that the flood had taken them back 40 years.
A private rice mill owner suffered loss of raw materials and rice bags worth Rs 2 crore, while a timber saw mill lost over Rs 4 crore worth of materials and a leading fertilizer shop lost Rs 1 crore worth of goods.
The ground floor of a leading textile showroom was completely submerged. Kamaraj said that traders from Thoothukudi and Tirunelveli go to Eral to purchase vessels because of the cheap prices.
“There is no hope for recapitalising the business, unless the government steps in to provide financial assistance,” he said.
Tamil Nadu Vaigar Sanganalin Peravai state general secretary Soundararajan told TNIE that the central government should extend the deadline for submission of GST filings as the department had automated fines for delay.
“There is no electricity and network, and the server could not be reached. The central government should pay heed to the welfare of the traders,” he said.
Modi calls up Stalin, says FM to survey flood damage
PM Narendra Modi on Sunday telephoned CM MK Stalin and enquired about the floods in the southern districts and Chennai.
Modi also informed Stalin about assigning Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to assess the flood situation.
In a social media post, Stalin said, “I have explained the rescue and relief efforts undertaken by us and sought immediate financial support.”