A rude jolt to small traders at Tirumala

TIRUPATI: The persisting uncertainty induced by the Covid-19 has pushed hundreds of small traders, hawkers and workers, operating at Tirumala to the brink.

In normal days, nearly one lakh pilgrims used to visit the abode of Lord Venkateswara every day, and all sorts and sizes of businesses were thriving before the pandemic struck.  With the temple now completely closed to pilgrims for three months, thousands of small traders, hawkers and workers are plunged into financial distress. They are hard put to eke out a living and support families. Many migrated to Tirupati in search of livelihoods or labour.

After struggling to survive the last year as the pandemic broke out, they were pinning hopes on normalcy in the New Year when the second wave dashed their hopes. Vallam Seshaiah, who owns a fancy shop at Tirumala, now vends face masks and sanitisers in Tirupati. He says there were as many as 1,060 families in Balaji Nagar atop Tirumala. Apart from them, around 1,000 families, who handed over their lands at Tirumala to TTD, and hundreds of workers and hawkers would go to Tirumala daily to carry on their activities.  Out of the 1,600 shops and over 300 stalls at Tirumala, only 5 per cent are open, added Seshaiah.

“It was around February-March this year when most of the businesses at Tirumala were just back on track and we hoped for a good summer season this year. But, with the sudden surge in Covid-19 cases, stringent curbs are back in place and the pilgrim footfalls have drastically fallen to 4,000-7,000 a day. This has affected our livelihoods. Almost all of us shut down our businesses after realising that we will not be in a position to pay even rentals, electricity bills and salaries,” rued Sunke Sravan Kumar, another tea shop owner.