A balloon-seller at the Charminar Bazaar / Photograph by Aleef Jahan
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Tales of hardship and hope: How Charminar bazaars fare in the post-Covid era
The Covid-19 pandemic had inflicted a lot of pain and suffering on the iconic Charminar bazaars and their traders. Fast forward two years, with most restrictions long lifted, all is still not well here. Though sales are fast picking up, complete recovery might take longer.
By Aleef Jahan
It is 4 pm, and Mohammed Rahmat, a seven-year-old earring peddler, is busy selling his small collection under the 400-year-old iconic Charminar.
He is wearing an oversized green topi on his head and a money pouch around his waist. He goes around selling his sparkling and colourful earrings, intricately arranged on the display hanging from his neck. Many, seeing his innocence, purchase them out of sheer sympathy.
Mohammed Rahmat, the seven-year-old earring seller, on a busy evening / Photograph by Aleef Jahan
"I don't go to school. My father died of Covid and I have a mother and two siblings to take care of," he shares as he packs the earrings before giving them to a customer.
As this reporter was conversing with him, a lady was covertly observing us. It is Ayesha Begum, Mohammed's mother, keeping an eye on him. "The pandemic hit a terrible blow on us. We barely survived the lockdown thanks to the kindness of our relatives," says Begum, who works as a tailor and house-help.
She also confided that, in contrast to Mohammed's words, his father had died long before Covid-19. Their desperation for survival forces them to use the fake story and Mohammed's young age to evoke people’s sympathy. The made-up story has helped them drive up sales in the recent past.
Several other children like Mohammed, around this legendary structure, sell different articles and carry the weight of their family's sustenance on their young shoulders.
"I don't go to school. My father died of Covid and I have a mother and two siblings to take care of."
Pandemic and the bazaars
Pandemic and the bazaars
The famous bazaars around Charminar used to bustle with life and energy. It has been a popular shopping destination, always abuzz with local and international tourists. Apart from the world-famous Hyderabadi pearls and bangles at the Laad Bazaar, you also get various other items, including clothes, curtains, ornaments, flowers and fruits.
Besides being a crippling health disaster, the Covid-19 pandemic is also the cause of a terrible economic catastrophe. It had resulted in 126 million job losses, as per a Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy report. Though its ripples affected all classes of people, it was the unorganised sector that had to bear its brunt. Almost 93% of India's workforce is from the unorganised sector, according to the National Sample Survey Office.
The pandemic had a devastating impact on the bazaars, with hawkers, and small vendors to big businesses taking a massive plunge in their income. Now with lockdowns long lifted and Covid-19 cases receding, things seem like they are on the way back to normal. Though the sales and the revenues have not entirely recovered, they are fast catching up to the pre-Covid levels.
Related link: An incomplete and exhausted recovery
The calamity that pandemic was
The calamity that pandemic was
Mirza Muhammad sits sipping a hot cup of Irani chai on the floor of his textiles shop 'Mohammad Ali Baig & Co.' It is a two-room shop with several staff members. He says that he suffered during the pandemic despite being relatively better off. "Last two years were a total slack," he shares.
Although he took the help of his sister to sustain himself, he acknowledges that most traders, especially hawkers and small vendors, were in a worse condition than him. Many had incurred huge losses and had to shut down their shops permanently.
Ladies clothing put up for display at a textile shop at Charminar / Photograph by Aleef Jahan
Though sales have increased, it has not bounced back to normal levels. "The spending capacity of people has gone down. People are earning less, so they have little money to spend, which is reflected in our sales," he says.
Most of his revenue used to come from weddings. Now that weddings are conducted with less expenditure, his sales have decreased. "The business is 30% down," he complains.
The Friday Juma prayer is over. Mohammed Sameeuddin, an attarwala, is busy selling perfumes to the people flocking out of the Mecca Masjid near Charminar. He sits on the pavement next to its entrance with vessels of different shapes filled with blue, yellow and black liquids, spreading their sweet fragrance.
“Right now, business is not as bad as before,” he says. However, this was not the case when the second wave ended. "My main customers used to be tourists and people visiting the mosque, especially during big congregatory prayers like the Friday Juma and Eid," says Sameeuddin.
"The spending capacity of people has gone down. People are earning less, so they have little money to spend, which is reflected in our sales."
Though lockdown has long been lifted, the tourist footfall has not caught up. He blames this on the international travel restrictions and the COVID-19 related fear that still persists. He says that he did not receive any help from the government. Sameeuddin hopes business will soon pick up.
Arif Mohammed is a 36-year-old bangle seller at Laad Bazaar in Charminar. “Things are looking bleak even now with sales down to 70%,” he says. Tourists and weddings used to be his primary source of income. "No tourist coming from any distance used to leave Charminar without buying bangles from its ever-famous Laad Bazaar," Mohammed adds.
With the travel restrictions slowly being lifted and the festival seasons approaching, many like him hope to increase sales in the coming months.
Like many others, Mohammed also pointed to the government's apathy towards their plight. Moreover, hawkers and roadside vendors complained about being harassed by the municipality and the police officials, who often try to evict them, terming them ‘illegal’.
Government support
Government support
The Prime Minister Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM-SVANidhi) is a central government scheme to help the street vendors during the pandemic. It promised every successful applicant collateral-free loans of Rs.10,000. Though many vendors benefited from this, most of them were left out.
"Only 40,000 of the three lakh street vendors have received the loan," says S Venkat Mohan, President, Telangana Vendors and Hawkers Trade Union. Many could not avail of the scheme because of not having bank accounts or Aadhaar-linked bank accounts.
Mostly, these vendors are migrants from states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, who do not possess any official documents, says James John, Greater Hyderabad General Secretary of the National Association of Street Vendors of India.
Many like Sheik Saleem, a fruit-seller at Charminar, have not heard about the scheme. This points towards an information gap that needs to be addressed.
"Only 40,000 of the three lakh street vendors have received the loan."
Sheikh Saleem was not aware of any government scheme meant for street hawkers / Photograph by Aleef Jahan
"Such claims are baseless. Around 95% of the street vendors knew about the scheme," claims G Rajanikanth Reddy, Deputy Commissioner of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC). He says that GHMC had helped the general public, including the hawkers, by providing free meals at Annapurna stalls during the pandemic.
Asked why the state government did not have any schemes like the PM-SWANidhi, he justifies, “That’s not how you should see it. Both governments are part of the scheme. Though the centre funds it, the state government employees implement it.”
The traders feel that the state government needs to shed its apathy and devise an additional monetary scheme to further support the street vendors. It should also aim to raise awareness about various schemes among potential beneficiaries. The government should also intervene to stop the harassment of street vendors by the police and GHMC.
Most shopkeepers feel the situation is much better now. Though they understand that a full recovery might take longer, they hope sales will increase in the coming months as they expect a rise in tourist footfall, weddings, and festivals. The fear of another wave of Covid-19 also looms large for many.
"Such claims are baseless. Around 95% of the street vendors knew about the scheme."
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