Families in Sellur, who eke out a living by making traditional snacks, have been severely affected due to the imposition of intense lockdown. With almost no sales during the lockdown period, the families are on the verge of starvation.
Those involved in the business say that it is a cottage industry where they make murukku, thattai and other snacks. These snacks are sold at shops in Madurai district and neighbouring Sivaganga and Virudhunagar districts.
However, since the imposition of the complete lockdown, it has become difficult to even purchase raw materials, says M. Selvarajan, owner of a snack unit. “It is difficult to purchase rice flour which is the basic ingredient to make these snacks,” he says.
The price of refined palm oil, used for frying the snacks, is sold at triple the normal price in the past few months, says K. Karthik, owner of another unit. “High prices of ingredients increases our production cost. However, we cannot increase the prices of the snacks as people already have less disposable income owing to the financial distress caused by COVID-19 pandemic. So, we hardly earn any profits,” he says.
Ever since the intense lockdown came into force, there is hardly any sales. With no income, our families are struggling to make both ends meet,” says Mr. Selvarajan.
Mr. Karthik says that they are hopeful that the situation will return to normality soon.
