Small traders, daily wagers brace for tough times ahead

PESHAWAR: The small traders, daily wagers and salesmen are expecting worst crisis in future if practical measures were not adopted to overcome the prevailing situation arising out of the coronavirus lockdown.

In separate chats with The News, the unemployed youth and elders working in different shops and centres observed that there was another virus called hunger which was more dangerous than coronavirus. The uneducated bread earners of their families observed that though the government has locked down the cities, which must be necessary for their protection but still the poor could not survive without food. “We have heard the lockdown could be extended and we have also heard about the government’s relief packages but how and when these would be given to them,” said one Azeem Khan, adding he had to feed his family. The small traders said they would have to pay heavy rents for shops and houses besides paying the electricity and gas bills and school fee of their children but they were worried as to how would they manage all the expenses. A shopkeeper Rashid said he had to pay Rs 55,000 monthly rent for his carpet shop, which his brother had established for him but he could neither open the shop nor there was any customer since long.

One Ihsan Ali running a perfume shop said he had to pay Rs16,000 rent per month.

One Immad was paid Rs 9,000 per month working in a bakery while Hameed said he was paid on a daily basis. However, they were asked not to come for work due to the dwindling number of customers in the prevailing situation. Markazi Tanzeem-e-Tajiran Khyber Pakhtunkhwa President Malik Mehar Elahi said they were cooperating with the government because of sensitivity of the issue but the government was not taking them into confidence.

The prime minister, he said, has announced Rs200 billion for exporters, Rs100 billion for industrialists, but the government had ignored the small traders. He elaborated that there were three types of traders. “There are those, who donated Rs2.2 million for the relief package and others who could afford to close shops for months, but the small traders are hand-to-mouth,” he maintained. Malik Elahi recalled he had informed two provincial ministers of the plight of the small traders, who assured them to solve their problems.

“We demanded special grant and interest-free loan for small traders, which would be returned within five years on easy installments, writing off utility bills and 50 percent wavier in school fee,” he said. Similarly, he said that the federal and provincial governments announced Rs5000 and Rs2000 separately for labourers without any coordination. “There are two types of labourers with small traders, including the ones who get monthly salary while some get paid on a daily basis,” he said, demanding proper procedure for them with the consultation of the union.

He demanded same rules for small and big restaurants, shops, saying the existing stock with stores would last for a few days as the supply from main markets was also stopped. He added that the price review committee has not held its meeting for the last several months to fix prices but the district administration was arresting shopkeepers for violating the official price-list which has created unrest among them. The truckers, he said, were reluctant to transport items from Punjab and Sindh.