Hyderabad: Post- lockdown, saloon owners worry about their safety, uncertain future

Hyderabad: "It might not be the same. I wonder, once the lockdown is lifted, how people would react to coming to saloons for a haircut and other services," wonders Arif, who works at a saloon in Nallakunta.He is not the lone worker who is worried about what is in store for tens and thousands of those working in the salons across the twin cities as the corona scare might impact their livelihoods.

"There are many customers who visit my salon every Saturday and Sunday. On Sundays, the customers come along with their children for a haircut. But, the frequency of regular customers and others has gone down much before the announcement of lockdown. Because people are very cautious and seem to avoid everything that they think or suspect even remotely contagious," said Lakshmi pathi, who runs his own salon.

Besides, in the traditional barbers' community several graduates and postgraduates who have completed even their professional degrees like B. Tech are working in about 17,500 salons spread across the twin cities, said Nayi Brahmana Sangam president Rachamalla Balakrishna.

He said there are about 50,000 working in 17,500 salons in Hyderabad and Secundrabad and about 2 lakh more people are working in another about 70,000 saloons located across the State, on whom many families are dependent for their survival. That apart, there are nearly 2,000 more working in the Kalyana Kattas of different temples like Yadagirigutta, Bhadrachalam, Vemulawada, Cheruvu Gattu, Basara and others. Besides, an equal number of people from the community make earning providing Sannai Melam in temples and marriages.

The lockdown has let down the traditional profession of all of the community members. But, it has also brought with it fear among those who have taken it as a profession as well as the customers. The profession makes one work by being closer to the customer and we cannot screen every customer. Further, in the village salons, it is easy to figure out who is coming to the salon. But, in urban areas, we cannot screen every customer coming to the shop.

Besides, it takes some more investment to implement sanitation measures, to acquire disposable face covers and other materials, Balakrishna said.Against this backdrop, he appealed to the State government to take steps to create necessary awareness about COVID-19 among those running salons. He also wanted them to provide necessary PPEs and health insurance, to keep the barbers and customers safe from getting infected with the deadly virus.