With a brisk business of as many as 1,500 to 2,000 photocopies a day during the peak season, the photocopier shops are the lifeline of every Delhi University (DU) student. These shops in DU’s North Campus are, however, struggling now as they missed out on the exam season of March-April and the admission process is also going online, owing to the pandemic.
Vishal from a photocopy shop at Patel Chest says, “Even two customers a day is rare. Most of our work was for Miranda House and Hindu College, but now that everything is online, we aren’t getting any orders.” He further shares, “We aren’t allowing anybody inside the shop and have devised some strategies for social distancing. But that can only be implemented if we get enough customers.”
Unable to pay rent, many have wrapped up their business. Dhaneshwar of Dhanesh Printographics tells us, “Six to seven shops have been shut. We had also rented another shop, but had to shut it as we were unable to pay the rent. With a loss of Rs 1,500-2,000 on a daily basis, we aren’t even able to pay our electricity bills. On normal days, we got over 100 customers in a day, but now hardly 10 customers visit the entire lane. Everyone prefers online processes now.”
With schools and colleges shut, the future seems bleak. “During the admission or examination period, we had many students coming in for photocopies and getting printouts of notes and forms. Losses will only be recovered if we get out of this pandemic alive,” says Gaurav Kumar of Rameshwari Photocopy shop.
{{/usCountry}}With schools and colleges shut, the future seems bleak. “During the admission or examination period, we had many students coming in for photocopies and getting printouts of notes and forms. Losses will only be recovered if we get out of this pandemic alive,” says Gaurav Kumar of Rameshwari Photocopy shop.
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