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Non-essential shop owners in Pune get back to business
PUNE For Ramesh Kadam, it is a relief and new hope to return to his garment store in Sadashiv peth after two months of lockdown
PUNE For Ramesh Kadam, it is a relief and new hope to return to his garment store in Sadashiv peth after two months of lockdown.
“For the last two months, we are struggling for our survival. Our small shop of clothes and garments was closed and our entire savings got finished during the last lockdown. I had to borrow money from friends. Now business has started and we hope to earn something for our livelihood,” said Kadam.
On Tuesday, thousands of non-essential shops and traders opened for business after two months, post the strict Covid restrictions imposed by the state government.
As Covid cases were on the rise in the state, a lockdwon was imposed which impacted hundreds of thousands who work in this sector.
On Tuesday, major markets like Tulshibaug, Laxmi road, the jewellery market at Sonya Maruti chowk, the mobile shops at Hatta Ganpati chowk and several other small markets across the city opened up.
Gangadhar Kundan, owner of Kundan Collections, one of the oldest clothing shops on Laxmi road said, “Though our shops were closed for two months and we didn’t have business, there were heavy expenses going on. We had to pay full salaries to our entire staff, electricity bills, EMIs and other maintenance of the shop. So we are already going through losses and now that the shop is open, it will take time to gain business.”
Nitin Pandit, president of the Tulshibaug market shop owners association, said, “All the shop owners and registered street vendors inside the Tulshibaug market were excited to open up after a long period of time. We welcomed our customers by giving them roses and also gave a social message of getting vaccination done. It is our responsibility to get vaccinated and follow all the Covid safety norms strictly.”
On Tuesday morning there was a sizeable crowd at all these markets. Manjiri Kulkarni had come to buy a new smarphone. She said, “My phone broke down last month and I had to use an old phone during this period. The first thing I planned to do after non-essential shops opened is to buy a new phone. I have bought a smartphone and also there are many other household things which we are planning to purchase this week.”
Another customer Rakesh Jethva said, “My brother’s wedding was planned in May and due to lockdown we postponed it to June. We have started our purchasing, as there are only 15 days left for the wedding.”
