Bengaluru: Work from home shrinks client base of neighbourhood pressers

BENGALURU: With lakhs of professionals working from home and students attending virtual classes, neighbourhood pressers are facing financial distress as not many customers are getting clothes ironed on a daily basis.
Most pressers used to receive over 150 pieces of clothes per day before March, but for many who spoke to TOI, the number has dipped to around 30.
Since the Covid-19 outbreak, IT professionals and many other officegoers are rarely pulling their formals out of their wardrobes and are working indoors in informal wear like bermudas and lungis.With schools too remaining closed, pressers have lost another loyal customer base. They can’t even bank on weddings and other functions since all celebrations are restricted affairs now with very less ostentation.
The pressers said they are in deep red, have borrowed heavily to tide over the unending crisis and may not be in a position to even pay the hefty interest. They mostly work on pushcarts, which they park in crowded neighbourhoods and serve their clientele.
R Sundramma, who is originally from Chamarajnagar and has been ironing clothes on her pushcart in Geddalahalli for 24 years, said, “My husband, two children and I come here daily to press clothes. We used to get over 400 pieces before March, but the number is down to 50. Only my son and I come for work now.”
“These are very difficult times. I used to also work as a domestic help in two households while my family members would be busy ironing, but even the employers have asked me not to come,” said Sundramma, who charges Rs 8 per piece.
The pressers, who worked anywhere between six to eight hours a day before the pandemic, now wrap up in just over an hour or so.
Veerappan P, who has been ironing clothes for a living for 11 years in Mathikere, said, “We don’t earn a lot of money now. It’s not even enough for a day’s meals. Sometimes when I don’t get many clothes, my family and I go to sleep on empty stomachs.” He added, “Until everyone’s life gets back to normal and people start heading out, my business will not improve.”
Veerappan, who migrated to the city from Tamil Nadu, has no other relatives and is the sole breadwinner. He said, “It is impossible for me to pay rent, school fees and keep my family well fed with what I’m earning right now.”
Neighbourhood pressers charge anywhere between Rs 7 and Rs 10 per piece of cloth. Some of them even fix rates according to weight of the clothes.
Saji Philip, a resident of Kammanahalli, said, “We are a four-member family and used to give 50-60 pieces of clothes every week, including children’s school uniforms. But we haven’t been doing it since the pandemic outbreak since my wife and I work from home and the children don’t go to school.”
N Venkatesh, who has been ironing clothes in Sanjayanagar for 12 years, said he’s incurred a huge loss in the past five months. “The government had assured us that people who are struggling like me will get a sum of Rs 5,000. But only some have received it,” he lamented.