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For street food vendors in Nida, it isn’t business as usual
Noida: Though Sarita’s family of five was hoping to get back to their village in Bihar, they decided to stay put in Noida when one of her sons found a job at a local
Noida: Though Sarita’s family of five was hoping to get back to their village in Bihar, they decided to stay put in Noida when one of her sons found a job at a local grocery store, thinking his salary would see them through till the time they got their two street vends back up and running. Their hopes of going back to business as usual, however, were not met.
“Once the restrictions were lifted, we restarted our tea vend at the Sector 18 market. However, business has been very slow. Barely 10-15 customers come in and we are not earning even close to what our income was earlier,” said Sarita, who lives in the Atta market area.
All family members used to run the roadside shop together but they are letting their son continue working at the grocery shop for the additional income.
There are myriad street-food vendors Sarita across the district who are struggling to make ends meet as despite relaxations and being allowed to resume work last month itself, business has not been not picking up for them due to lesser footfall.
When the national lockdown had first been announced from March 25, street vendors had lost their livelihood. Some of them being migrants had wanted to go back to their home states but the hope of getting back to selling their wares soon enough had kept them from going.
Some vendors, meanwhile, say they have simply not opened up their shops as they know they will not have enough customers to keep the business running.
“We had two outlets next to each other. From one we used to sell streetfoods like golgappe, chaat, samosas and even momos. From the other we sold basic vegetables. Once the lockdown rolled about, we knew that the demand for fruits and vegetables would go up and that is what we are continuing with even now. Our street food vend has been put on hold for at least another month or so. We know that there will not be enough customers. Hardly one person comes by asking when we will resume selling snacks. So it doesn’t seem worth the effort for now,” said a vendor in Sector 75, asking not to be named.
For others, there is no option but to forge ahead despite the reduced clientele.
“The last two months were very difficult. My brother works as an auto-rickshaw driver while I run a momo stall. We both lost our livelihood and could barely scrap by depending on residents of nearby societies for help with basic necessities. Though we are both back to work, the situation hasn’t changed much. People no longer want to eat outside food. Very few people come over and most of them just get it packed to take it home. It doesn’t matter that I ensure proper hygiene is maintained. People are simply scared of eating out. No one shop is faring well,” said Naresh, who runs a vend at the Sector 76 market.
Footfall is proving to be a problem not only for street food vendors but markets and malls as well, as people are scared of venturing out unless absolutely necessary.
“I want to go and enjoy all the foods and snacks that I used to eat two months earlier. But it just doesn’t seem worth the effort anymore when even stepping out of the house is an achievement in itself. Maybe the situation will change in a few months when the pandemic starts to subside and we know that every seller is ensuring proper hygiene and sanitisation measures,” said Ritika Singh, a resident of Sector 75.
India had first gone on lockdown from March 25 and is currently in the first phase of the Unlock when most activities, except those in containment zones, have resumed, albeit with precautionary measures.
