Lockdown forces Koti ‘book street’ to go empty
Booksellers reveal they have been sitting outside their shops and hoping for a customer
Even after the lockdown restrictions have been partially lifted, and the date for several common entrance tests announced, the famous Koti’s ‘book street’ wears a deserted look.
Some shops have reopened a few days ago after the lockdown restrictions were relaxed. A bookshop employee, Lakan, told Deccan Chronicle, “There has been no business for the last two months. The shopowner used to give us half salary of `10,000. We somehow managed. We can’t even put pressure on him over the salary.”
He added, “We opened the shops a few days ago but there is no business. Usually at this time there is a huge demand for entrance and competitive exam books. There used to be business of around `10,000 to `15,000 per day. Now, we are not even selling books for `500.”
A walk through the bylanes reveals bookshops located in a huge building where the sellers are sitting outside and hoping to find a customer.
One of these employees, Sonal, said, “We used to work almost 10 hours to do business of `5,000. Due to the restrictions, we can’t even sell books for `300. We are struggling. If there is business of `5,000 a day, the owner used to give me `500.” Sonal has a wife and a son. “During the lockdown, we managed with our savings and the government’s free rice and money helped.”
The booksellers think that the lack of public transport is one of the reasons for reduction of footfalls, apart from among people of Coronavirus.
Koti is also famous for its streetside shopping, but the situation is the same here too. Vamana Rao, who has been selling posters for
35 years, said he had never seen a situation like this. He came to city in his early
20s from Medak district and has been doing business since then.
Before the lockdown, he used to travel from his house in Ramanthapur to Koti, reaching at 7 am and working till 11 pm to earn
`2,000 a day. He paid for the the fear contracting education of his children, who are now working in private companies. Rao wants to continue his business.
Of the lockdown, he said, “I used to feel bored as I didn’t have any work. We had no problem with food as my children are earning. But I had got used to working for 35 years and can’t sit idle suddenly.”
He added that there used to be around 25 shops on the road. “Now, only two of us have opened shop. Business is dull, there are no customers. I am earning only about `300 now.”