Tailors jittery: Schools reopening
It was music to their ears when the state government had announced that physical classes for school children would resume on July 1. The promise of DDay invigorated the spirits of tailors and all those whose livelihood revolves around making and marketing school uniforms.
Alas, they are now caught in a precarious situation as the government on Saturday suggested that physical classes would not commence on July 1. This bolt from the blue has jolted all of them as they were looking forward to getting back to business. During the lean period, they took up thankless alternative jobs for survival. July 1 was supposed t0 signal a return to their profession after nearly two years of idleness.
Shiv Kumar, who runs a tailoring shop at Amberpet, said, “Two seasons have passed without any school uniform business. There was always talk that schools would reopen but that did not happen. We fervently hoped that this time schools will function like they used to before Covid19 brought the world to a standstill. Alas, now comes the latest decision of the government and it is back to square one. ”
Michael Abraham of Apolina Enterprises said “Before the pandemic, we had 16 employees with 12 hi-tech machines. We had a contract with more than
30 schools, whose billing used to be around `4 lakh to `5 lakh.”
He added, “The peak season for us is from February to July, which is just ahead of the commencement of the academic year. Because of the nationwide lockdown, we failed to deliver the orders, though they were ready with the finished product. They have been lying in the warehouse for the last 15 months.”
Continuing further, Abraham said, “In the first few months, I was able to pay salaries to all employees. But when things began to stretch and there was no earning, I was compelled to remove some employees. The announcement of a July 1 reopening rekindled our hopes. In fact, many of my workers have been calling me to rejoin work. Saturday’s development has dampened our spirits, all over again.”
FD Khan and Co, a shop at Abids, has been popular for school uniform material since 1929. Its proprietor, Mohd Mukarram Khan, said, “My grandfather was telling me that even during the World War II, our shop was open. Whenever they heard the air raid siren, they would pull the shutters down for a brief while. But the Covid phase has been the worst. Business has been zero for the past 15 months. Even though the July 1 date was announced, people have not turned up to buy uniform material. I still have doubts whether parents will send their children to schools now that there is a fear of the Delta plus variant.”
● THEY ARE now caught in a precarious situation as the government on Saturday suggested that physical classes would not commence on July 1. This bolt from the blue has jolted all of them as they were looking forward to getting back to business. During the lean period, they took up thankless alternative jobs for survival.