Vijayawada: Petty traders, hawkers have lost their livelihood due to lockdown

Vijayawada: A large number of petty traders have lost their livelihood due to lockdown. To check the spread of coronavirus, the Central and State government are enforcing lockdown for over 18 hours a day. It has led to small traders and street hawkers losing income and their families suffering for two weeks.

More than 30,000 small traders are eking out a living by selling tea, pani puri, idli, dosa, selling vegetables, pulka, chpati, biriyani, pulao, kichidi and other items.

These petty traders are not able to open their small shops or roadside kiosks. Several thousand families, who came from Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and other States, have been deprived of income.

Petty hawkers on Beasant Road, Lenin Centre, One Town and other commercial areas of the city too are suffering. These small traders and hawkers sell fancy items, footwear, clothes, decorative, flowers, vegetables and other items in the city. They are not able to come out of their homes in the evening time due to lockdown. These families are eagerly waiting for the lifting of lockdown and withdrawing of Section 144 CrPC in the city.

K Rajesh, who hailed from Rajasthan, has no clue when the lockdown would be withdrawn. He said the petty traders were deprived of income.