Page 17 - XITE Magazine 2021

Annual Magazine

Impact of Lockdown on
Impact of Lockdown on
Impact of Lockdown on
Small Businesses in
Small Businesses in
Small Businesses in Stanley Kujur
BA Eco (Sem1)
Jamshedpur
Jamshedpur
Jamshedpur

All of us are aware of the present crisis that we are facing, that is COVID-19. Let me tell you once more even if
you are well aware. On 11th March 2020 WHO declared COVID-19 as a pandemic and issued orders for
'lockdown' to prevent the spread of corona virus across the world. India too went on nationwide lockdown on
24th March 2020 . Due to lockdown the market became unstable which resulted in disastrous impact on the
economy. The $2.5 trillion economy shattered into pieces after the implementation of lockdown and kept on
breaking month after month.
So it can be said that every single economic entity in the country suffered, but the most decisive blow was
taken by the street vendors of the country. They suffered too much in times of lockdown as they weren't able to
sell their goods with full freedom as previous times. Along with bearing losses in their business they also had to
undergo mental stress. So, I decided to carry out a study in my locality to know the situation of street vendors
presently and also during lockdown. For this small survey I prepared a questionnaire for street vendors
residing or selling in my locality. I selected vendors from Golmuri market and Baridih market of Jamshedpur.

So after carrying out the survey while I was compiling the answers I was shocked to know that many answers
coincidentally matched with each other which means that they shared same fate and suffering with each other.
When I asked them about their working conditions and per day earning one of the vegetable sellers said “babu
pure din 16-18 ghante saman bechne ke baad hum 600-800 rupaye kama lete hain par mahine bhar ke hisab
se paise bhut hi kam bachte hai kiyunki har din humse paise liye jate hain, kabhi dukan lagane ka kiraya toh
kabhi bade babu( inspector) aakar humse bhi wasooli karte hai 100-200 rupaye aur akhir mein humare pass
paise aur bhi kam ho jate hai “. This situation was faced by most of the vendors even before the lockdown and
one of shopkeepers said “before lockdown I used to have regular customer in my grocery store but due to
lockdown after government imposed several policy and restrictions such as goods to be sold at limited time,
half of the time customer's didn't come as they feared of getting virus . All this affected my profit and I have to
suffer a lot”. Another seller recollected his suffering with regard to selling goods during lockdown. He said”
jab hum sabji ka thela lekar bechne keliye jagah jagah jaate the toh bhut sarre jaghoon pe pabandi tih ki bina
mask ke na ghume toh hum uska bhi palan karte the aur mask lagakar hi saman bechte the par phir bhi agar
kahin pe thanedar sahab hume dhek lete the toh humse wasooli karne keliye aajate the, ekk toh din bahar
ghumne ke baad bhi jayda sabji nhi beechpate hain aur upar se ye log paise lene aajate hain aur paise nhi dene
par humara saman hi jabt karlete the”. This small survey made me aware of the suffering of these struggling
small businessmen at the hands of local authorities. I also did ask one of the vendors about his other vendor
mates who might have shut their business . To this, one of the vendors said “mere se do teen dukan bagal ek
aurat fal(fruits) ka dukan lagati thi par aab nhi lagati hai .Shayad uska udhar badh gaya hoga aur waha dukan
thik se chala nhi pa rahi hogi aur usne dukan band kardiye” . This situation was also faced around some of the
vendors of Sakchi and Tinplate .
After carrying out this small survey I really got to know about the sufferings of street vendors who are also a
part of our community and we should be very grateful to them because they are such an essential subsection of
Indian towns, providing products and services at competitive rates as well as at easily accessible locations.
They put a lot of work into taking responsibility for their own lives as well as their families. It is my sincere
appeal to all the readers to do their best in helping these people to recover from financial and psychological
stress created by the pandemic.

Volume-VIII, 2020 15