Secunderabad landlords quite sympathetic to business tenants

Hyderabad: There are over 1 lakh shops in GHMC limits whose businesses have been severely hit due to the corona pandemic. In view of this, tenant shopkeepers and landlords have to come to an understanding to tide over the present crisis after requests from the former.

Shopkeepers were allowed to remain in the same spaces without vacating them but with an understanding that monthly rents of during the lockdown period would be treated as due, which could be paid later once the situation improves. In some areas, the monthly rents have been slashed by 20 per cent to 40 per cent on an average to give relief to traders.

Take the case of places like Ranigunj, Tobacco Bazar, General Bazar, RP Road, Park Lane and commercial lanes in Secunderabad, which deal in hardware, electricals, textile and readymade garments, grains, gold and silver.

All shops were shut during the national lockdown. During the unlock phases too, most of the shops could open for only a few hours.

With not enough footfall and dip in customer orders shopkeepers are barely able to meet their monthly expenses. After requests, the majority of the landlords in these areas have agreed for deferred payment of monthly rents. Hence there are not many 'To let' boards being seen in front of shops in this part of the world.

Ammanabolu Prakash, president of Telangana State Federation of Textile Associations (TSFTA), explained that shops in these areas have been in operation for several decades and a majority of the landlords understand the current situation enough to accommodate requests for deferred monthly rent payment.

However, if one moves to other commercial areas like Himayatnagar, Ameerpet, Banjara Hills, Jubilee Hills, Madhapur, Hitech and peripheral areas of the city like Kompally, Kondapur and Nagole, the picture is different.

Here the rents are very high usually and due to corona shops, particularly readymade garment franchises selling men's, women's and kids wear have closed their shops altogether. One can see 'To let' boards displayed in front of shops along Road No 45, Banjara Hills. Landlords have reduced monthly rents up to 40 per cent and 50 per cent where the monthly rents go into lakhs of rupees, but still traders running shops are not able to meet their monthly expenses.

Kathuri Praveen Kumar, who has readymade garment stores in Parklane, Himayatnagar, stated that business has been very dull for the last six months. Customers' footfall has dropped and even if they tried to reach out to regular customers to place orders for home delivery, the response was not encouraging, he said.

In view of these testing times, Praveen Kumar urged the state government to give relief to traders by allowing deferred payment of GST, licence renewal and property tax.