Most street vendors at weekly bazaars continue to suffer losses and are unable to buy new stock as they cannot get themselves to ‘trust’ cashless modes of payment.
Ever since the government withdrew Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 notes from circulation on November 9, shortage of currency has affected vendors as they buy and sell using cash alone.
For vendors at the Friday market near Bal Bhawan, online banking and mobile wallets are out of reach. With an average earning of Rs.2,000 a day, most vendors said they cannot afford smartphones. Others said they couldn’t trust cashless transactions.
Gauri Shankar, who sells shawls, said: “I spend the whole day standing at my stall. Someone might steal my phone and I won’t even realise it. It will be a big loss for me.”
Dharam Kumar, who sells boxes, said that the possibility of being cheated kept him from trying out mobile wallets.
“Customers can say that they will pay using some app or online banking, and then just not. What will I do in such a situation? I will be cheated every day in this manner,” Mr. Kumar said, adding that he had been incurring losses for the past two weeks.
Reluctant
Some just did not want to try out cashless transactions.
“I have been selling vegetables for almost 10 years now. I do not understand this new system. My understanding is that if I don’t have notes in my pocket, there has been no sale,” said Nitin Kumar, a vendor.
Anni, who sells jewellery at weekly markets, said that rings and necklaces that used to sell for Rs.40 were now being sold for Rs.10.
Satpal Maurya, a bag-seller from Paharganj, said that he was buying less as sales were down.
“I know I will not be able to sell more than two bags a day, so I bring fewer bags to the market now. People don’t have the money to buy a bag for Rs.100,” Mr. Maurya said.
‘Going back to villages’
In fact, the condition of street vendors across India has suffered over the past three weeks, said Arbind Singh, the national coordinator of National Association of Street Vendors of India. “Vendors have gone back to their villages as they don’t have the resources to operate without any sales. Even if vendors accept mobile payments, they still have to pay wholesalers in cash,” said Mr. Singh.
(The writer is an intern with The Hindu)
