Odisha: Lockdown misery for street vendors

BHUBANESWAR: The economic woes of vendors are unlikely to end soon as parts of the state, including the capital city, entered another 14-day lockdown.
The vendors, who earn their living by selling a variety of things on the footpath, street corners and in markets in urban centres, said the lockdown had rung the death knell for their business, which was showing signs of recovering even though the number of cases was rising.
“When the first lockdown started in March, we were caught unawares. In the following three months, everything remained closed and we used up our savings. When the lockdown was lifted in June, I took a loan and re-started my business, although the returns were poor. With yet-another lockdown, how will I feed my children and repay the interest of the loan?” asked Nityananda Patra, who sells ready-made clothes in Unit-1 market.
Patra migrated to Bhubaneswar from Aska in Ganjam district about 10 years ago. He can’t go back to the district as it is the worst affected in the state.
This new lockdown and the earlier weekend shutdowns in urban centres badly affected thousands of street vendors like Patra. “Around 90% of the street vendors sell things that the government considers inessential. Only 10% sell vegetables and fruits. The vendors have not yet received the loan announced by the Centre for them,” said Pratap Sahu, state secretary of National Hawkers’ Federation. He said the PM Street Vendors Atma Nirbhar Nidhi, a special micro-credit programme announced for street vendors that can get them loans of up to Rs 10,000, had not yet been implemented in the state.
There are over 30,000 street vendors in Bhubaneswar alone. Other urban centres like Cuttack, Berhampur and Jajpur, where the lockdown will continue till July 31, have nearly 50,000 vendors who sell a wide range of products from clothes and utensils to plastic items, artificial jewellery and spices.
“I have tried selling fruits, then corn, then face masks and sanitisers to make a living during the pandemic. With roads empty and people indoors, who will buy our things?” said Rama Khamari, 31, a native of Boudh district. Khamari lost his job as a salesman in a cloth store during the lockdown.
Sahu said the National Hawkers’ Federation had submitted a memorandum to the state government seeking release of the loan announced by the Centre for street vendors. “We also want the government to bear the education fees of the children of the vendors and provide the workers with insurance,” said Sahu.