Winter shopping and piping hot food are a huge draw at Majnu ka Tila, a Tibetan colony in north Delhi, every year.
This year, however, sales have not warmed up as the market has been bitten by the demonetisation chill.
Just like most other businesses and markets, this area too faced the consequences of the note ban. Most of the shops in the area still rely on cash transactions to run their daily business.
Sceptical of online money
While some lack the means to acquire POS machines and e-wallets, several others are sceptical of online money considering the risks involved.
Shop owners rely on their everyday sales to make ends meet and with a significant dip in purchases, their livelihoods have taken a hit.
“I help my cousins run their garments store. A person would buy a shirt worth Rs. 400 and then expect us to give change for Rs. 2,000, which is very difficult. The high denomination note is a major reason why we have lost most of our customers. Although this policy might help curb black money and corruption, the policy-makers have not kept the lower strata of society in mind,” said a student who is pursuing her PhD from Delhi University.
Ashok Kumar, a Delhi resident, has been running a shop at Majnu ka Tila for over 15 years now. He considers himself lucky as he had a card swipe machines installed and made provisions for e-wallet transactions over six months ago.
Restaurant owners hit
“My sales have been better than a lot of other shops as cash transactions are problematic these days. The market has customers, but sales have reduced a bit. Online shopping portals have been flourishing even more, but at our expense,” he said, adding that the entire commotion will have a positive result in the end.
Restaurant owners in the market have also been facing problems.
“Initially, the impact was severe and the restaurant seemed deserted. However, the situation has improved now. I started accepting e-wallet payments to make things easy for my customers,” said, Rabyanj, owner of the Zakhang Restaurant. Although he does not accept debit/credit payments, he feels that the inflow of customers at his eatery is gradually normalising.
