Intermittent showers that hit the city during the past few days not just washed away the festive spirit of Onam from the life of Shaji Lukose but is even threatening to push him to penury.
“Usually, I used to get a business of up to ₹10,000 a day during the festival season. This time, it has come down to a meagre ₹2,000,” said Mr. Lukose, a street vendor of fancy items like sunglasses and belts at the Ernakulam boat jetty.
On Uthradom day, usually families throng the area in large numbers. Though it was a holiday on Wednesday, it looked like an ordinary day with a few visitors coming to the boat jetty area. The recurrent rain has forced families indoors, which in turn has reflected on the business, said Mr. Lukose.
After losing the last two Onam holidays to COVID and natural disasters, traders like Mr. Lukose were hoping to recover from the loss they sustained, through sales this season. However, the untimely rain has dashed their hopes of recovery.
There are around 2,000 licensed street vendors in the Kochi Corporation area.
“I had purchased goods anticipating good sales during Onam days. The goods were purchased after raising loans from local moneylenders. I am now unsure about how to repay the loan,” he said.
“If the weather conditions improve, people may once again come out of their homes to the streets during the remaining days of the Onam holidays, which in turn may bring business for small-time traders like me,” he hoped.
Abdul Raheem, who is into street vending of clothes, especially undergarments and dresses for kids, is a worried man as the rain has hit his business hard.
A woman selling ‘Thumbapoo’ wait for customers during a heavy rain in Kochi on Wednesday. | Photo Credit: THULASI KAKKAT
“All that I could earn on Wednesday was just ₹300 in place of the usual ₹4,000 to ₹5,000. As it rained at intervals during the day hours, there were no buyers for clothes and other goods, which was a matter of concern for wayside traders,” he said.
“Unlike the sales of toys and gift articles, there won’t be much business for cloth sellers during post-Onam days. The maximum sales for clothes take place during pre-Onam days. I was hoping to repay the loan raised for purchasing clothes through sales during Onam holidays,” he said.
T.B. Mini, a trade union leader, said street vendors should have been allowed to put up some temporary facilities to protect their merchandise from rain considering the erratic weather pattern.
M.H.M. Ashraf, chairperson of the Town Planning Standing Committee of the Kochi Corporation, said the Street Vending Act has not prescribed any provisions for supporting the vendors from the impacts of adverse weather conditions. “It is a fact that the business of the traders has been hit hard by the bad weather,” he said.
