Hyderabad: Big jolt to small-scale units

Hyderabad: With people not leaving their houses, small-scale businesses which usually see brisk business during Ramzan are hit hard.

"There has been a very huge effect on the business due to lockdown in Ramzan. There is a high demand during Ramzan and marriages, but since the lockdown, the entire business has suffered a lot. The prices of these baskets differ on the basis of sizes. They used to sell for Rs 40 to Rs 2,000 earlier. Now we have to sell them at half prices due to fewer customers," said Sooraj Sharma, the owner of Sadguru Krupa Baskets and Furnitures at Ramkote. These baskets are generally sold in areas like Gosha Mahal, Nampally, Begum Bazaar and Chaderghat.

Similarly, fruit sellers in the city have been hit hard during Ramadan as Coronavirus pandemic dries up business due to the ongoing lockdown to prevent the spread of the COVID-19. "We are in a fix. Our fruit business is down due to the lockdown. There are thousands of people associated with fruit business who make their living during Ramzan. They are the victim of the lockdown as the sales have drastically gone down," said Rasheed Khan a seller at Kothapet fruit market.

Kothapet fruit market, the biggest wholesale fruit market in Hyderabad is a place where nearly tonnes of fruits come from different states via trucks especially for Ramadan.