Selvi is a street vendor who sells guavas near Patoor in Thiruvananthapuram. She is all set to return to her home in Nagercoil. In the last few days her business has seen tremendous loss as around 20 kg of guava she bought from a wholesaler rotten away as there were no sales.
Selvi used to earn a profit of at least Rs 300 a day earlier. But after the spread of COVID-19 cases in Kerala and alerts from the government, the streets have become deserted and people have almost stopped purchasing anything other than essentials.
Selvi is one among the many roadside vendors who face a severe setback due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Streets are not crowded any more. People who come out don’t buy guava like they did earlier, may be they are scared to buy from the roadside,” Selvi says.
Sasi, a fish seller at Thiruvananthapuram’s Kumarapuram market for the last 35 years, doesn’t remember a similar situation earlier.
“For the last five days no business is happening. Very few people buy fish. I’m facing a huge loss after a good quantity of fish got spoiled. Later all of us started taking very less quantity for sale. Still day by day the number of customers is reducing. It is worrying. Big traders can afford to shut down for a few days, but we are in trouble,” he says.
But Sasi expressed his willingness to follow government orders. “We are ready to obey the government orders even if they ask for a shutdown. People’s lives are more important. Poverty is a part of our life,” he adds.
Since March 14, after Thiruvananthapuram Collector Gopalakrishnan asked people not to come out unnecessarily, major streets, parks, bus stands, railway station and markets of the city remain deserted. Major hangout places like the Museum and Kanakakunnu parks are closed. All shopping malls and other shops have been given strict instructions to help prevent coronavirus. Water and hand wash facilities have made available in every corner of the city.
The health department has declared that everyone should be maintain physical distance and no more than 50 people should gather at one place.
The Kerala government has also suspended the sales of lottery tickets till March 31. Raju, a lottery seller with disability, is also worried about his livelihood but is hopeful after the government announced a Rs 20,000 crore COVID-19 relief package.
“I’m not able to do any other work than selling lottery. For the last many days sales are completely down. Now we are closed. Hope we will come out of this bad phase soon. Since the government is providing free rice, we will not starve,” he says with a smile.
People are also scared to have even natural drinks or food on the streets. Omana, who used to sell around 200 tender coconuts a day in Vanchiyoor, now hardly sells 10 daily.
“Usually by 5.30 to 6 in the evening our full stock would be over. I used to have regular customers. These days I see them passing through but they don’t stop for a drink. Maybe they are scared. Today I had only five customers. If this continues, I’ll have to stop this business,” Omana says.
Mary, who sells palm fruit juice, also says people hesitate to buy the drink. “I used to close my shop by afternoon usually. But these days I’m not able to sell all the juice till late in the evening. Instead of 60 or 70 glasses per day, these days I sell only four or five,” she says.