OM Bureau
STOP PRESS: The rain is seemingly taking its toll and the small traders have had the worst of seasons. The Government is sitting still over the issue, overlooking the realities which are not going to adversely affect the Babus either. What ails a Government if not a distressed populace it is supposed to manage. But what ails an apathetic government, anyway?
Orissamatters team reflects.
It is hard to say which is worse, the scorching summer sun or the continuous deluge creating a greater havoc on a much larger scale. The situation of the capital is no different, though a little safer than the coastal regions in this rainy season.
The adverse effect of the uninterrupted down pour, since the last week, has resulted in heavy loss for the small time footpath businesses in the city. Having no other alternative, than sitting in the rain with their wares or to pack up and sit at home waiting for the raining to calm down, it is bad scene with these modest traders.
“We live from hand to mouth. No matter how much it rains I have to make some money everyday. Moreover, I can not keep the mushrooms for long they get spoiled, so I have to sell them somehow. But, because of this continuous rain, not many people are interested to stop by and pick up mushrooms,” said Shatrughan Barik who sells mushroom at Jaydev Vihar Chaak.
Then there are the numerous palmists and astrologers, ground nut sellers, soft toys sellers or the maidri workers, chat or gup-chup trolleys who settle on the footpaths luring passerby to squeeze a few bucks out to brighten their day. But thanks to the rains they are not to be seen nowadays. “This rain has literally ceased my business. I have nowhere else to sit and do my business. God only knows when this will rain stop,” said Bali, who was found on the Master Canteen footpath in a bid to sell decorative pieces and toys, sitting under an umbrella.
The problem is not only for the traders sans any stall or permanent place to sit, but even with those having humble stalls. The long lines of temporarily permanent shops on roadside of Unit-I market or Capital market are facing similar kind of problems. “Rainy season is the most bothering period of the year. Clothes that we display get wet and spoilt. We try to protect them with polythene sheets, but it is as good a keeping the stall closed,” lamented Manoj Patra, a dress stall owner on the Unit-I footpath. “If some concrete place is arranged for us it will be a great help,” added Duryadhan Mallick, Patra’s co-worker. {OM}