Prior to the lock down, 68-year-old C. Karuppuswamy, from Neelangarai, used to earn a living by collecting and selling scrap. Now, he has switched over to vegetables and fruit sales on a tricycle to make money.
It is not just Mr. Karuppuswamy: many other scrap dealers across the city have now switched over to vegetable and fruit sales with the help of various traders associations. Some of them give away the excess fruits and vegetables at the end of the day to the homeless.
“I used to collect scrap from different houses in Neelangarai and then sell it to iron and cardboard dealers. I used to get a commission of ₹500 to ₹1,000 per day. Due to the lockdown, no one is giving away scrap and there are no buyers too. Hence I switched over to vegetables.. As we go to every street, residents do not have to throng markets. This will reduce crowding,” he said.
S. Gopi, another scrap dealer, said that he has been collecting waste from different houses and selling it for the past 10 years. “Now, business has shut down. Hence I use the tricycle, earlier used to collect scrap, to sell the vegetables,” he said.
The scrap dealers go to Koyambedu early in the morning and purchase vegetables and fruits for ₹2,000 and then sell it till noon. “Most of us earn around ₹300 per day. This is sufficient to run the family and pay rent,” adds Mr. Karuppuswamy.
Despite the hardships faced, the scrap dealers-turned-vegetable vendors donate the excess fruits and vegetables to homeless persons and to Chennai Corporation field staff. “We take home a small quantity, the rest we donate. There is no point taking it home as we cannot sell it the next day,” claimed Mr. Gopi.
